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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: temple · leaves · pop · kid · snap · saw · march · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. kid — to tease
  3. saw — the tool
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — soda
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. snap — to click
  8. cell — in biology
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. saw — the tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pop — music
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pop — to visit

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