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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. staff — employees
  3. file — a line of people
  4. court — for sport
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. court — of a king
  7. rule — government
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. court — of law
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rule — a law
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. staff — employees
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. arm — 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