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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. game — a match
  9. land — ground
  10. march — the month
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. land — a country
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. land — to come down
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. march — music
  23. mate — a friend
  24. temple — side of the head

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