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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bound — tied together
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bound — obliged
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bound — certain
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. wind — moving air
  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