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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chest — of your body
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cell — in biology
  16. spring — of water
  17. land — to come down
  18. drill — army training
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spring — the season
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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