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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. snap — to click
  4. season — in sport
  5. land — ground
  6. track — a song
  7. land — a country
  8. track — a path
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bank — of a river
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. season — of the year
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. kid — child
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. track — to keep track
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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