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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. present — a gift
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — in sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. net — for catching
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. scale — size or range
  14. present — there
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. net — after costs
  22. rest — a break
  23. scale — in music
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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