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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. firm — decided
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. firm — a company
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. field — farmland
  16. hand — help
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. field — for sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. field — a subject
  22. hand — in cards
  23. firm — steady
  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