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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  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. rush — a thrill
  3. drill — a practice
  4. craft — boats
  5. rush — hurry
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. can — a tin
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — of the year
  10. can — a tin
  11. drill — army training
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. craft — a skill
  14. content — the amount
  15. bark — to shout
  16. content — happy
  17. can — to be able to
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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