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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. current — electric
  3. current — happening now
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. stock — shares
  13. game — a match
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stock — goods
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. game — wild animals
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. current — of water
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pitch — a sports field

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