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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. march — the month
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. swing — in golf
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. toast — bread
  16. bear — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. swing — to play on
  20. march — the month
  21. branch — a division
  22. march — music
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. spring — a coil

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