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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. object — a thing
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. object — an aim
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cold — an illness
  9. chip — to eat
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — there
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. spring — of water
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spring — the season
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. drill — the tool
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. object — to protest

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