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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: deal · cold · field · kick · kid · mug · roll · temple

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. field — for sport
  4. roll — a cake
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. kick — in football
  7. field — a subject
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. kid — child
  13. roll — a list
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. mug — a cup
  18. field — farmland
  19. cold — an illness
  20. deal — to handle
  21. mug — a face
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. kick — with a leg

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