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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cold — not warm
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. kid — to tease
  8. present — there
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rush — hurry
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. present — the time now
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. present — a gift
  22. cold — an illness
  23. kid — child
  24. saw — the tool

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