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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.

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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. branch — a division
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cold — not warm
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bear — the animal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. chip — in a computer

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