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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. craft — a skill
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bat — the animal
  7. kid — to tease
  8. track — a path
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. craft — boats
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. kid — child
  14. season — of the year
  15. track — a song
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. shower — rain
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. shower — to wash
  23. season — in sport
  24. temple — side of the head

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