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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. rush — hurry
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — army training
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. clip — a video
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. clip — for paper
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. march — music
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. rush — a thrill

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