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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. drill — army training
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mine — for digging
  6. deal — to handle
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pop — to visit
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rock — music
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — high quality
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. rock — a stone
  21. pop — music
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pop — soda
  24. mine — an explosive

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