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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. last — finally
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — steady
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rest — what's left
  7. squash — the sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. last — to go on
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rest — what's left
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. last — final
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rest — a break
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. firm — decided
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. temple — a place of worship

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