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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. court — of law
  3. last — final
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bark — to shout
  7. court — for sport
  8. last — finally
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. mine — for digging
  12. court — of a king
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. roll — a list
  21. march — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. temple — side of the head

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