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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bound — tied together
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. last — finally
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. bound — obliged
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cold — an illness
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. bound — certain
  18. bear — the animal
  19. last — final
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. court — for sport

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