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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. face — to point toward
  6. march — the month
  7. can — to be able to
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. drill — a practice
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. can — a tin
  13. saw — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. perch — the fish
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. drill — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. can — a tin

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