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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chip — for betting
  5. mug — a cup
  6. chip — to eat
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bat — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — a position
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ground — crushed
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mug — a face
  22. mate — a friend
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. temple — a place of worship

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