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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. march — music
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rest — what's left
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. spring — a coil
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. spring — the season
  11. rest — what's left
  12. lean — to bend
  13. march — the month
  14. cell — in biology
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. march — the month
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. net — for catching
  21. spring — of water
  22. net — after costs
  23. lean — thin
  24. rest — a break

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