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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — music
  6. kid — child
  7. field — a subject
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chest — of your body
  10. field — farmland
  11. rash — hasty
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rash — a series
  15. field — for sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pop — to visit
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. chest — a box
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. rash — on the skin

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