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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: wind · row · bat · cue · mate · rest · temple · land

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a line
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rest — what's left
  6. row — to paddle
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cue — for pool
  11. mate — to breed
  12. rest — what's left
  13. land — ground
  14. cue — a signal
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. land — to come down
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rest — a break
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mate — a friend
  22. land — a country
  23. cue — a hint
  24. wind — moving air

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