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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 120 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. can — a tin
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. can — a tin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — child
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kick — in football
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. object — to protest
  20. wind — moving air
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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