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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bound — obliged
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pop — soda
  6. staff — employees
  7. bear — the animal
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bound — tied together
  13. last — to go on
  14. pop — to visit
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pop — music
  17. scale — in music
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bound — certain
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. staff — employees
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. nail — for a hammer

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