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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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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: arm · temple · pop · racket · land · season · last · ground

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. season — of the year
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. last — final
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pop — music
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pop — to visit
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. season — in sport
  18. last — to go on
  19. ground — a position
  20. last — finally
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pop — soda
  24. arm — part of the body

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