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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 124 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. land — to come down
  3. tube — a container
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spell — a short time
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mate — a friend
  10. chair — a leader
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. land — ground
  14. mate — to breed
  15. spell — letters
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bat — the animal
  19. land — a country
  20. spell — magic
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mate — a partner
  24. temple — a place of worship

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