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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. last — to go on
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bore — to drill
  8. spell — a short time
  9. rush — hurry
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. last — final
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. spell — magic
  17. last — finally
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. spell — letters
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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