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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. last — to go on
  3. board — a committee
  4. kid — child
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. club — for dancing
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. last — finally
  10. board — to get on
  11. club — for golf
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. game — a match
  16. kid — to tease
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. last — final
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. club — a group
  24. temple — a place of worship

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