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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. land — ground
  7. chip — for betting
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. saw — the tool
  11. content — happy
  12. race — a contest
  13. craft — boats
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. race — the arms race
  16. saw — the tool
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. content — the amount
  19. chip — to eat
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. craft — a skill
  23. race — humankind
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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