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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spring — the season
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. mug — to rob
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. rest — a break
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. season — of the year
  12. mug — a face
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mug — a cup
  15. season — in sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spring — of water
  22. cold — an illness
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. arm — part of the body

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