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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spell — a short time
  3. staff — a stick
  4. march — the month
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. dip — to sink
  7. staff — employees
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. march — the month
  10. land — a country
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. spell — magic
  13. march — music
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. land — to come down
  18. bat — the animal
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. staff — employees
  21. land — ground
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. spell — letters
  24. cabinet — ministers

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