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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. branch — a division
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. spring — a coil
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. spring — of water
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wind — moving air
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. lean — thin
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rock — music
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. spring — the season
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rock — a stone
  24. drill — army training

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