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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rash — a series
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bank — for money
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bank — for money
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. kid — child
  20. rest — a break
  21. cap — of ice
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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