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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. perch — for a bird
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. season — of the year
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cell — a phone
  8. season — in sport
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. march — music
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bound — obliged
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. chip — to eat
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bound — tied together
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bound — certain
  23. perch — for a bird
  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