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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. march — music
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rule — government
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. row — a line
  9. board — to get on
  10. mug — to rob
  11. wind — moving air
  12. board — a committee
  13. mug — a cup
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. march — the month
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. rule — a law
  23. mug — a face
  24. march — the month

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