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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. mug — a cup
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mug — a face
  5. chip — to eat
  6. cold — an illness
  7. field — farmland
  8. cue — a hint
  9. hand — in cards
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rash — hasty
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. hand — help
  17. cue — for pool
  18. rash — a series
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mug — to rob
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cue — a signal
  24. hand — part of the body

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