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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 120 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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spring — the season
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wake — a trail
  7. drill — the tool
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. can — a tin
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. spring — of water
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — a coil
  22. can — a tin
  23. drill — army training
  24. coach — a trainer

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