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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: lash · wind · net · temple · key · fork · chair · march

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. net — in sport
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. march — the month
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. key — for a lock
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — for catching
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. fork — in a road
  17. march — music
  18. key — in music
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — a leader
  23. march — the month
  24. key — the most important part

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