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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cap — a hat
  6. squash — the sport
  7. capital — money
  8. ground — the earth
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bat — the animal
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — to get on
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. ground — a position
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. board — a committee
  19. capital — a city
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cap — of ice

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