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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. saw — the tool
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. key — for a lock
  10. game — a match
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pop — music
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. key — in music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. capital — a city
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. saw — the tool
  24. jam — a tight spot

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