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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. kid — to tease
  4. hand — help
  5. foot — a measure
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. kid — child
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. last — final
  13. band — a ring
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. hand — in cards
  17. last — to go on
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. band — a music group
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. last — finally
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. mine — for digging

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