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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. march — the month
  3. court — of law
  4. court — of a king
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a document
  8. tube — the underground
  9. march — music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. file — a line of people
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. snap — to click
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. march — the month
  18. file — a tool
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. court — for sport

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