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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. face — to confront
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. bear — the animal
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. roll — a list
  14. bear — the animal
  15. face — part of the head
  16. current — of water
  17. face — to point toward
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. roll — a cake
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. current — happening now
  23. field — farmland
  24. current — electric

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