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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. content — happy
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. content — the amount
  23. pitch — completely
  24. temple — side of the head

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