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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. spring — the season
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. spring — of water
  10. craft — a skill
  11. branch — a division
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rush — hurry
  22. craft — boats
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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