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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. key — in music
  4. field — a subject
  5. ball — a dance
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. mine — for digging
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. row — a line
  13. key — the most important part
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. key — for a lock
  20. deal — to handle
  21. row — to paddle
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. ball — a great time

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