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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mug — a cup
  3. last — final
  4. cold — not warm
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. shower — rain
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. last — to go on
  12. mug — a face
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — for betting
  16. last — finally
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cold — an illness
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. shower — to wash
  24. branch — a division

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