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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. staff — a stick
  4. season — in sport
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. degree — temperature
  9. staff — employees
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a tool
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. file — a document
  19. staff — employees
  20. file — a line of people
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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