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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. club — a group
  3. rash — a series
  4. lean — thin
  5. court — of a king
  6. press — newspapers
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. march — the month
  9. rash — hasty
  10. club — for golf
  11. court — of law
  12. press — to push
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. march — music
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. branch — a division
  17. court — for sport
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. club — for dancing
  21. lean — to bend
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. press — a publisher

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