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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. march — music
  3. cold — an illness
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. march — the month
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. season — in sport
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cold — not warm
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spell — magic
  15. march — the month
  16. spell — letters
  17. foot — a measure
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. season — of the year
  23. spell — a short time
  24. shower — rain

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