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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. chest — a box
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rule — a law
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. rule — government
  13. tear — to rip
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. dip — to sink
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. field — a subject
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chest — of your body

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