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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 120 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. content — the amount
  4. suit — clothes
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. object — a thing
  9. wind — moving air
  10. content — happy
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. object — an aim
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. suit — to fit
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bulb — for light
  20. suit — in cards
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. object — to protest
  23. wind — moving air
  24. march — the month

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