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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.

Make a worksheet

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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. date — the fruit
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. current — electric
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. capital — money
  9. land — ground
  10. court — of a king
  11. current — happening now
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. capital — a city
  14. court — for sport
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. court — of law
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. land — a country
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. current — of water

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