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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bank — of a river
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. field — a subject
  17. bank — for money
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. bank — for money
  22. field — farmland
  23. cell — in biology
  24. field — for sport

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