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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mate — a friend
  5. scale — in music
  6. hand — help
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mine — for digging
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. mate — a partner
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mate — to breed
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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