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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. mate — a partner
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. snap — to click
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. spring — the season
  15. mate — a friend
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. deal — to handle
  20. pound — a weight
  21. mate — to breed
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. deal — a big deal

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