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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · lean · lie · temple · court · bat · march · staff

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. staff — employees
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — the month
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. court — of a king
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. court — for sport
  11. staff — employees
  12. bat — the animal
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lean — thin
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — an injury
  23. court — of law
  24. lean — to rest against

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