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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: perch · court · temple · sharp · drill · rule · cell · tube

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. tube — a container
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. drill — the tool
  5. perch — the fish
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. court — of law
  11. tube — the underground
  12. rule — a law
  13. drill — army training
  14. cell — a phone
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. sharp — clever
  17. drill — a practice
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. rule — government

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