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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cap — a hat
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. shower — to wash
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cap — of ice
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. drill — the tool
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. drill — a practice
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. kick — in football
  18. cap — a lid
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. branch — a division
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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