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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. date — the fruit
  3. kid — child
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — to tease
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bass — the fish
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bass — low music
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. saw — the tool
  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