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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mark — a grade
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. last — to go on
  5. mug — a cup
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mug — to rob
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mug — a face
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. last — final
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. cell — in biology
  23. last — finally
  24. mark — to pay attention

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