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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chest — of your body
  3. race — a contest
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. kid — child
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. race — the arms race
  8. hand — help
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. race — humankind
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kid — to tease
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rock — music
  19. chest — a box
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. rock — a stone
  24. nail — on a finger

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