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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. mate — a partner
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. field — a subject
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. land — ground
  13. mate — to breed
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — for sport
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. sharp — clever
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kid — child
  21. field — farmland
  22. land — to come down
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. land — a country

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