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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. craft — boats
  3. pitch — completely
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. key — in music
  9. degree — from a university
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. last — to go on
  13. degree — an amount
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. key — for a lock
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. craft — a skill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. key — the most important part
  21. degree — temperature
  22. last — finally
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. last — final

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