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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bat — the animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. perch — the fish
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. band — a ring
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. march — music
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. band — a music group
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. band — a rubber band

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