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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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Word bank
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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. perch — the fish
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — a city
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. capital — money
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. wake — a trail
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bowl — a football final

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