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

Word bank: perch · tube · ruler · mate · cold · leaves · swing · temple

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. swing — to play on
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. swing — in golf
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cold — not warm
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. tube — a container
  17. mate — to breed
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mate — a partner
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. swing — 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