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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 124 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. drill — army training
  3. net — for catching
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pound — a weight
  9. drill — a practice
  10. net — after costs
  11. board — to get on
  12. march — music
  13. row — a line
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — the tool
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. net — in sport
  20. board — a committee
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. march — the month

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