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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: court · march · snap · arm · temple · staff · bore · cell

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. court — of a king
  11. cell — in biology
  12. court — of law
  13. bore — to tire
  14. staff — employees
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cell — a phone
  19. court — for sport
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bore — to drill
  24. temple — side of the head

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