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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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 — music
  3. game — a match
  4. march — the month
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. mate — a friend
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. root — the cause
  9. bulb — for light
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. march — the month
  12. bulb — for light
  13. root — of a word
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. degree — temperature
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mate — a partner
  20. degree — an amount
  21. game — wild animals
  22. root — of a plant
  23. mate — to breed
  24. degree — from a university

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