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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.

Make a worksheet

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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. content — happy
  4. march — music
  5. content — the amount
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. ground — a position
  11. march — the month
  12. tube — a container
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. tube — the underground
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. ground — crushed
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ground — the earth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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