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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rest — what's left
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pass — a permit
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. rash — a series
  13. branch — a division
  14. rash — hasty
  15. capital — money
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ground — a position
  19. capital — a city
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. rest — a break
  23. drill — army training
  24. capital — a big letter

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