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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. drill — army training
  4. prune — to trim
  5. drill — a practice
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. chest — a box
  8. field — farmland
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. swing — in golf
  19. chest — of your body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. swing — to play on
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. swing — music

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