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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 · pit · trunk · saw · row · perch · club · last

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pit — a hole
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. pit — in a race
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. last — to go on
  14. perch — the fish
  15. saw — the tool
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. club — for dancing
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. club — a group
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. club — for golf
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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