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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. ground — crushed
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bulb — for light
  8. march — the month
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ground — a position
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bulb — for light
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rush — hurry
  19. march — music
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. saw — the tool
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. march — the month
  24. straw — dry grass

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