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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. march — the month
  3. band — a music group
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. march — the month
  6. plane — a tool
  7. foot — a measure
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. cold — an illness
  14. spell — letters
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. march — music
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cold — not warm
  20. spell — magic
  21. band — a ring
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. spell — a short time

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