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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. scale — in music
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. scale — size or range
  6. land — to come down
  7. squash — to crush
  8. land — ground
  9. chest — a box
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. chest — of your body
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. land — a country
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. date — the fruit
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chest — of your body
  24. temple — side of the head

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