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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. deal — to handle
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. file — a tool
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. season — in sport
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. branch — a division
  11. bank — for money
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. season — of the year
  15. saw — the tool
  16. file — a document
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. file — a line of people

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