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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chip — for betting
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. mine — for digging
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mate — a friend
  8. lean — thin
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. lean — to bend
  13. hand — help
  14. chip — to eat
  15. pit — in a race
  16. mate — to breed
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cold — not warm
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cold — an illness
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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