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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wake — a trail
  5. season — of the year
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. spell — a short time
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spell — magic
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. branch — a division
  18. season — in sport
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spell — letters
  21. court — of a king
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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