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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cap — a hat
  6. key — the most important part
  7. court — of a king
  8. key — for a lock
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. key — in music
  11. court — of law
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cap — a lid
  15. land — a country
  16. court — for sport
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. hand — help
  19. cap — of ice
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. land — to come down
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. hand — in cards
  24. lash — an eyelash

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