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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. hand — in cards
  5. roll — a list
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. race — a contest
  8. kid — to tease
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. hand — help
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rule — a law
  15. cap — a lid
  16. rule — government
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cap — a hat
  19. roll — a cake
  20. race — humankind
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. roll — on a roll

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