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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Hold the papers together with 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. court — for sport
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. clip — to cut
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — steady
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. court — of a king
  11. firm — decided
  12. toast — bread
  13. plane — a tool
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. swing — in golf
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. swing — music
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. clip — a video
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. court — of law
  24. clip — for paper

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