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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rash — a series
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. game — a match
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mate — a partner
  20. degree — an amount
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. game — wild animals
  24. degree — temperature

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