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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mate — to breed
  6. lean — to bend
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mate — a partner
  10. race — a contest
  11. cold — an illness
  12. race — humankind
  13. net — for catching
  14. mate — a friend
  15. object — a thing
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — thin
  18. object — to protest
  19. chest — a box
  20. net — in sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. net — after costs
  23. object — an aim
  24. cold — not warm

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