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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. stock — shares
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — an illness
  12. suit — clothes
  13. suit — in cards
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. suit — to fit
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bowl — to roll

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