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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cold — not warm
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. staff — a stick
  9. can — a tin
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. can — a tin
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. can — to be able to
  14. staff — employees
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. staff — employees
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. march — the month
  19. foot — a measure
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cold — an illness

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