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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. ground — the earth
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wound — an injury
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. scale — size or range
  9. branch — a division
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ground — a position
  12. scale — in music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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