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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mate — a friend
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kick — in football
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. mine — for digging
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. mate — a partner

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