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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. drill — army training
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bore — to tire
  12. chest — a box
  13. drill — a practice
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. chest — of your body
  16. drill — the tool
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. toast — bread
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bore — to drill
  21. lie — to recline
  22. mine — for digging
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bore — gave birth

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