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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: row · cell · bulb · swing · temple · pound · mine · plane

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bulb — for light
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cell — a phone
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mine — belonging to me

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