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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. last — to go on
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pit — a hole
  10. content — happy
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. club — for dancing
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. last — final
  17. club — a group
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. club — for golf
  21. content — the amount
  22. deal — to handle
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. temple — side of the head

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