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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. land — ground
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bulb — for light
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. land — a country
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. capital — a city
  12. land — to come down
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. snap — to click
  15. capital — money
  16. sharp — clever
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bulb — for light

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