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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. firm — steady
  5. kid — child
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rash — a series
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pit — a hole
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. row — a line
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bat — the animal
  18. row — to paddle
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. firm — decided
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rash — hasty

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