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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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Word bank
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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. drill — army training
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. key — for a lock
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cell — a phone
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cell — in biology
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. key — the most important part
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — the animal
  20. kid — child
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rash — a series
  24. key — in music

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