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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. ground — the earth
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. clip — for paper
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pound — a weight
  17. clip — a video
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. kid — child
  24. ground — a position

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