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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · snap · date · clip · bowl · squash · pit · temple

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pit — in a race
  8. clip — to cut
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. squash — the sport
  15. date — the fruit
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. pit — a hole
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. squash — to crush

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