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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. face — to confront
  3. bulb — for light
  4. field — a subject
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. march — music
  8. face — part of the head
  9. stem — to come from
  10. craft — a skill
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. face — to point toward
  13. field — farmland
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — boats
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bulb — for light
  20. march — the month
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. field — for sport
  24. march — the month

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