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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. cold — an illness
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. ground — a position
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — for pool
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cue — a signal
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ground — crushed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com