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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fine — all right
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. race — humankind
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — music
  12. fine — high quality
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. file — a document
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. vault — a safe
  17. hand — help
  18. race — a contest
  19. file — a tool
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. wake — a trail
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. hand — in cards

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