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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. field — farmland
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. field — a subject
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. capital — money
  15. squash — the sport
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. straw — a straw man

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