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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. court — of law
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. clip — a video
  13. mug — a face
  14. pop — music
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mug — a cup
  18. deal — to handle
  19. pitch — completely
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mug — to rob
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. pop — soda
  24. deal — a big deal

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