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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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468
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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. field — farmland
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fall — to drop
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. mate — a friend
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. fall — to drop
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. tube — a container
  15. fall — the season
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. mate — to breed
  18. tube — the underground
  19. field — for sport
  20. pitch — completely
  21. mate — a partner
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. field — a subject
  24. snap — to click

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