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

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. kid — to tease
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. club — for golf
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kid — child
  11. chest — a box
  12. club — a group
  13. spring — of water
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. club — for dancing
  16. spring — the season
  17. march — the month
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — music
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. march — the month
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spring — a coil

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