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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fall — to drop
  3. ground — the earth
  4. charge — a price
  5. swing — in golf
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. last — to go on
  8. charge — electricity
  9. ground — crushed
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. ground — a position
  12. swing — to play on
  13. row — to paddle
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. hand — in cards
  16. last — final
  17. row — a line
  18. charge — in control
  19. fall — the season
  20. hand — help
  21. swing — music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. last — finally
  24. hand — part of the body

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