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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. present — the time now
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. present — there
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wind — moving air
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. present — a gift
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. stock — shares
  13. wind — moving air
  14. toast — bread
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. content — the amount
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. stock — goods
  24. mine — belonging to me

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