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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. track — a song
  3. cell — a phone
  4. track — to keep track
  5. rash — a series
  6. bound — obliged
  7. mug — a face
  8. bound — tied together
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. board — a committee
  11. drill — army training
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. mug — to rob
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. board — to get on
  17. mug — a cup
  18. drill — a practice
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bound — certain
  21. cell — in biology
  22. track — a path
  23. drill — the tool
  24. board — a flat piece

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