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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. court — for sport
  3. march — the month
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. chest — a box
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. march — music
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. court — of law
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. court — of a king
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chip — for betting
  24. nail — for a hammer

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