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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. land — to come down
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. land — ground
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. game — a match
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. tube — the underground
  14. land — a country
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pit — in a race
  17. lie — to recline
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. game — wild animals
  21. swing — music
  22. pit — a hole
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. temple — side of the head

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