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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. march — music
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. march — the month
  5. spell — magic
  6. present — there
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — part of the head
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wind — moving air
  11. march — the month
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. face — to confront
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cell — a phone
  22. present — a gift
  23. spell — letters
  24. present — the time now

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