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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. foot — a measure
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. ground — crushed
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stand — to bear
  13. file — a tool
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ground — a position
  18. row — to paddle
  19. ground — the earth
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. cue — a signal
  24. row — a line

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