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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 120 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: season · rule · march · arm · wound · temple · cell · court

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. court — of a king
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cell — in biology
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. march — the month
  11. wound — an injury
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. court — for sport
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. court — of law
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rule — a law
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rule — government
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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