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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: content · drill · temple · lie · fall · nail · game · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. drill — army training
  5. game — a match
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. game — wild animals
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lie — to recline
  16. fall — to drop
  17. content — the amount
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kid — to tease
  23. content — happy
  24. nail — for a hammer

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