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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. band — a ring
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. season — in sport
  14. branch — a division
  15. chest — of your body
  16. band — a music group
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bass — the instrument

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