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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. tear — from crying
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. perch — the fish
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tear — to rip
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bank — for money
  11. race — humankind
  12. band — a ring
  13. race — a contest
  14. stock — goods
  15. bank — for money
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stock — shares
  20. band — a music group
  21. bank — of a river
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tear — from crying

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