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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — music
  5. mate — a partner
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. chest — a box
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. swing — music
  10. mate — to breed
  11. swing — in golf
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. swing — to play on
  19. wake — a trail
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mate — a friend
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. temple — side of the head

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