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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She's very handy with 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. spell — letters
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mate — to breed
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. degree — temperature
  7. deal — to handle
  8. spell — magic
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. court — of law
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mate — a friend
  17. saw — the tool
  18. court — for sport
  19. mate — a partner
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. court — of a king
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. degree — from a university
  24. saw — the tool

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