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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. shower — rain
  5. rule — government
  6. present — the time now
  7. shower — to wash
  8. present — there
  9. cap — a hat
  10. court — of law
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. rule — a law
  13. row — a line
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cap — a lid
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. row — to paddle
  20. present — a gift
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cap — of ice
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

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