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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. roll — a list
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. roll — a cake
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. last — to go on
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bat — the animal
  15. last — finally
  16. branch — a division
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. roll — on a roll

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