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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: bowl · perch · temple · mine · safe · pitch · swing · tear

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. swing — music
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. swing — to play on
  24. temple — a place of worship

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