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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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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: clip · fall · temple · stick · court · bass · date · march

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. court — of a king
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bass — the fish
  6. date — the fruit
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. fall — the season
  9. clip — a video
  10. fall — to drop
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. march — the month
  20. court — for sport
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. clip — for paper
  23. court — of law
  24. bass — low music

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