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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. season — in sport
  3. net — in sport
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. ground — the earth
  6. net — after costs
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. chest — a box
  14. last — to go on
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. ground — crushed
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. ground — a position
  20. branch — a division
  21. season — of the year
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. chest — of your body

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