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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. drill — the tool
  3. key — for a lock
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. key — the most important part
  6. ground — crushed
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. ground — a position
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. net — for catching
  13. scale — size or range
  14. ground — the earth
  15. drill — a practice
  16. net — in sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. key — in music
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. scale — in music
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. net — after costs

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