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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. field — farmland
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. field — a subject
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ground — the earth
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — all right
  11. mate — to breed
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mate — a partner
  15. field — for sport
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mate — a friend
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. fine — high quality
  24. ground — a position

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