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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mark — a grade
  3. net — after costs
  4. kid — to tease
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cue — for pool
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. net — for catching
  10. mine — for digging
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. kid — child
  13. cue — a signal
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cue — a hint
  17. net — in sport
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. temple — a place of worship

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