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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. land — ground
  5. net — after costs
  6. foot — a measure
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bark — to shout
  9. land — to come down
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. shower — to wash
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. land — a country
  14. season — of the year
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. swing — to play on
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. swing — music

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