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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. land — to come down
  3. kid — child
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. last — final
  7. charge — a price
  8. bass — the fish
  9. last — finally
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. charge — electricity
  12. last — to go on
  13. bass — low music
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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