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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. swing — music
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. swing — in golf
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. last — final
  10. court — of law
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. court — for sport
  14. shower — rain
  15. last — finally
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. last — to go on
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. court — of a king
  20. swing — to play on
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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