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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. degree — an amount
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. can — a tin
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. degree — temperature
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. march — the month
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. prune — to trim
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. degree — from a university
  24. snap — to click

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