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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: land · stock · game · spell · pit · march · present · temple

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. present — there
  3. land — ground
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. march — the month
  8. pit — in a race
  9. stock — goods
  10. spell — letters
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. present — the time now
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. present — a gift
  16. march — music
  17. game — a match
  18. spell — magic
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pit — a hole
  23. march — the month
  24. game — wild animals

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