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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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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pass — a permit
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. band — a music group
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. race — humankind
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. mate — a friend
  12. rule — a law
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. rule — government
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. hand — in cards
  23. race — a contest
  24. mate — to breed

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