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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. kid — child
  3. spring — a coil
  4. date — the fruit
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. stand — to bear
  8. court — of law
  9. rash — a series
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. court — of a king
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit
  19. court — for sport
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. spring — of water
  22. rash — hasty
  23. spring — the season
  24. date — on the calendar

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