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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. march — the month
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. content — happy
  7. wax — to grow
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. mate — a partner
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. fork — in a road
  15. content — the amount
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. march — music
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. march — the month
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fork — a garden tool

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