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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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. patient — a sick person
  4. ground — a position
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ball — a dance
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. ball — a great time
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — in football
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. ground — the earth
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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