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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. club — a group
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. firm — decided
  6. last — finally
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. spring — a coil
  9. club — for dancing
  10. spring — of water
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stem — to come from
  13. last — final
  14. club — for golf
  15. spring — the season
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — a division
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. last — to go on
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. temple — side of the head

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