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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 was a fun ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. game — a match
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. saw — the tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. root — the cause
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — a video
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. root — of a word
  22. saw — the tool
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. bulb — of a plant

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