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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. staff — a stick
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. stock — goods
  7. swing — to play on
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pit — a hole
  11. swing — music
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. game — wild animals
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. pit — in a race
  18. swing — in golf
  19. staff — employees
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. snap — to click
  22. staff — employees
  23. game — a match
  24. plane — in geometry

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