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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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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: temple · fall · pitch · nail · lie · stock · hand · kid

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stock — goods
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fall — the season
  9. stock — shares
  10. lie — to recline
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hand — help
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitch — completely
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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