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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. kid — child
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. cell — a phone
  6. prune — to trim
  7. object — a thing
  8. object — to protest
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kid — to tease
  11. object — an aim
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. prune — to trim
  18. present — a gift
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. present — there
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. present — the time now

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