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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mug — to rob
  6. object — a thing
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. scale — size or range
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. court — for sport
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. branch — a division
  16. mug — a cup
  17. object — an aim
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. scale — in music
  23. object — to protest
  24. cold — an illness

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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