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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. hand — help
  3. land — ground
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. cold — an illness
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rest — a break
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. land — a country
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. land — to come down
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fork — in a road

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