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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chest — of your body
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chest — a box
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. row — a line
  24. calf — a young animal

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