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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. land — to come down
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. hand — help
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. hand — in cards
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. land — ground
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pitch — completely
  16. land — a country
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. deal — to handle
  19. face — to confront
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fork — in a road
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. fork — to eat with

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