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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spell — letters
  3. rule — a law
  4. hand — help
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. track — a song
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. track — to keep track
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a path
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. rule — government
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spell — a short time
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cabinet — ministers

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