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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mate — a partner
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. object — an aim
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bat — the animal
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cell — a phone
  17. scale — in music
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — to protest
  21. last — finally
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. temple — a place of worship

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