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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mate — to breed
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bulb — for light
  7. march — the month
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. spring — of water
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. board — a committee
  12. march — the month
  13. bulb — for light
  14. season — in sport
  15. march — music
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. mate — a friend
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. mate — a partner
  22. drill — the tool
  23. season — of the year
  24. board — to get on

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