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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. current — happening now
  5. file — a document
  6. rest — a break
  7. file — a tool
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. current — of water
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. file — a line of people
  15. current — electric
  16. game — a match
  17. rest — what's left
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. game — wild animals
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  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