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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bound — certain
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. band — a music group
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. club — a group
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bound — tied together
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bound — obliged
  17. last — final
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. club — for dancing
  22. land — to come down
  23. club — for golf
  24. temple — a place of worship

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