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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · content · march · dip · mark · deal · sharp · temple

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. content — happy
  5. march — music
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. march — the month
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mark — a grade
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. dip — to sink
  21. mark — a trace
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. march — the month
  24. leaves — to go away

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