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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. swing — to play on
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. season — of the year
  6. shower — rain
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. court — of a king
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. court — of law
  15. rock — music
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. swing — in golf
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. court — for sport
  21. swing — music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. season — in sport

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