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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spring — a coil
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. land — ground
  6. spring — the season
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spring — of water
  9. last — final
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tube — a container
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. last — to go on
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. last — finally
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. game — wild animals

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