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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. march — music
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. march — the month
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bulb — for light
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. drill — the tool
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lie — to recline
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bulb — for light

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