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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. temple — side of the head
  3. swing — music
  4. hand — in cards
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bass — low music
  9. content — the amount
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. hand — help
  15. content — happy
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. spring — the season
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. swing — in golf
  23. content — videos and posts
  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