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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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 — a division
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. march — the month
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pit — in a race
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pit — a hole
  9. season — of the year
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. squash — to crush
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. march — music
  20. season — in sport
  21. march — the month
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spring — the season

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