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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bass — low music
  3. last — to go on
  4. march — music
  5. cap — of ice
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. clip — a video
  8. cap — a lid
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. march — the month
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — for paper
  16. last — final
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cap — a hat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. march — the month
  23. mate — a partner
  24. bass — the fish

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