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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bat — the animal
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. present — there
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. board — to get on
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. mug — to rob
  12. capital — money
  13. present — the time now
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mug — a face
  17. can — to be able to
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — a city
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. mug — a cup
  24. present — a gift

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