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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. hand — in cards
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. club — a group
  10. hand — help
  11. ground — crushed
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pop — to visit
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pop — music
  16. ground — a position
  17. club — for golf
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pop — soda
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chest — a box

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