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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mine — for digging
  3. land — ground
  4. object — an aim
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. object — a thing
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — a country
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. land — to come down
  21. lean — to bend
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. object — to protest

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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