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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. bat — the animal
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. can — to be able to
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. can — a tin
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chest — of your body
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. firm — steady
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. shower — rain
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. firm — a company
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. firm — decided
  23. can — a tin
  24. temple — a place of worship

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