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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. cue — a hint
  6. rash — hasty
  7. march — music
  8. cue — a signal
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wound — an injury
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cell — a phone

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