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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. craft — boats
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. kid — child
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. craft — a skill
  13. content — the amount
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. content — happy
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cell — a phone
  22. shower — rain
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kid — to tease

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