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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lean — thin
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. pit — a hole
  11. kid — to tease
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. game — a match
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. kid — child
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — in a race
  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