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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. firm — a company
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. season — of the year
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ball — a dance
  14. firm — decided
  15. branch — a division
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. ball — a great time
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. firm — steady
  23. branch — of a bank
  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