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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bound — certain
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wax — to grow
  10. scale — in music
  11. hand — help
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bore — to drill
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bound — tied together
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bound — obliged
  24. hand — part of the body

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