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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 124 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cold — not warm
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. degree — temperature
  8. last — finally
  9. suit — clothes
  10. last — final
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. last — to go on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. degree — from a university
  19. suit — in cards
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. cold — an illness
  22. suit — to fit
  23. game — wild animals
  24. safe — out of danger

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