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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pit — a hole
  3. key — in music
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. key — the most important part
  8. band — a music group
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pit — in a race
  12. key — for a lock
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. band — a ring
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. game — a match

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