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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 120 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spring — a coil
  8. kid — child
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. land — ground
  11. bound — certain
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. kid — to tease
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bound — obliged
  22. land — to come down
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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