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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cold — an illness
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — after costs
  7. lean — thin
  8. net — for catching
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. march — the month
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. march — music
  20. net — in sport
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. march — the month
  23. foot — a measure
  24. rash — a series

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