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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cell — in biology
  6. file — a document
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bass — low music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. fork — in a road
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cell — in a prison

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