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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ground — crushed
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rest — what's left
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. ground — the earth
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. rest — a break
  17. field — for sport
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bound — obliged
  20. season — of the year
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. vault — a safe
  24. season — in sport

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