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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: last · temple · tear · net · ground · rule · kid · dip

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ground — a position
  5. net — after costs
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — to go on
  8. kid — child
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. tear — to rip
  13. last — final
  14. rule — government
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. kid — to tease
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rule — a law
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. net — for catching
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. net — in sport

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