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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. drill — the tool
  4. court — of law
  5. swing — in golf
  6. court — for sport
  7. swing — to play on
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. rush — hurry
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. drill — army training
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. drill — a practice
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chest — a box
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. chest — of your body
  23. swing — music
  24. court — of a king

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