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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 I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. snap — to click
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. field — a subject
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. sharp — clever
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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