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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. can — a tin
  5. bass — low music
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. file — a document
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. can — a tin
  14. kick — in football
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. rule — government
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bass — the fish
  21. file — a tool
  22. bark — to shout
  23. can — to be able to
  24. coach — a trainer

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