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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wind — moving air
  3. march — the month
  4. wind — moving air
  5. march — music
  6. bore — to tire
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. march — the month
  9. row — a line
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. key — for a lock
  14. roll — a cake
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bore — to drill
  22. fork — in a road
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — in music

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