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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: object · land · stick · mug · temple · squash · wound · kid

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. object — a thing
  3. land — to come down
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. object — to protest
  6. mug — a cup
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mug — a face
  9. object — an aim
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. squash — the sport
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kid — child
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. squash — to crush
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. kid — to tease
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mug — to rob

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