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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: temple · dip · race · kid · mine · hide · last · net

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. net — in sport
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — to go on
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. race — humankind
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. net — for catching
  11. dip — to sink
  12. kid — child
  13. last — final
  14. net — after costs
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. last — finally
  17. mine — for digging
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. dip — to dunk

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