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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cap — a hat
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cap — a lid
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. game — wild animals
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cap — of ice
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. clip — a video
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. clip — for paper
  24. game — a match

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