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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bat — the animal
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. rock — music
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. rock — a stone
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. land — ground
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. land — to come down
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. foot — a measure
  23. kick — in football
  24. band — a music group

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