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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. craft — boats
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. season — in sport
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. craft — a skill
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. plane — a tool
  21. perch — the fish
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. season — of the year
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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