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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wake — a trail
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. last — finally
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. branch — a division
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. capital — a city
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. date — the fruit
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. last — to go on
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. capital — money
  21. last — final
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  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