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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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Word bank
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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pit — in a race
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mark — a trace
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mark — a grade
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. capital — a city
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. snap — to click
  20. branch — a division
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. drill — army training

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