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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. field — a subject
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. field — farmland
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. staff — employees
  10. branch — a division
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. field — for sport
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. kid — child
  17. staff — employees
  18. hand — in cards
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. staff — a stick
  24. hand — help

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