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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. branch — a division
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. mate — to breed
  13. chest — of your body
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. chest — a box
  16. bat — the animal
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. dip — to sink
  23. march — the month
  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