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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. squash — to crush
  5. court — for sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. scale — in music
  9. current — happening now
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. game — a match
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. court — of a king
  14. plane — a tool
  15. current — of water
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. court — of law
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. game — wild animals
  22. current — electric
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. scale — for weighing

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