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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spring — a coil
  3. band — a ring
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. season — of the year
  6. spring — the season
  7. band — a music group
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. season — in sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. spring — of water
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. net — for catching

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