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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. cold — not warm
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. branch — a division
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — for sport
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. branch — of a tree

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