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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bank — for money
  6. scale — size or range
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wound — an injury
  14. scale — in music
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bank — for money
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. squash — the sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bank — of a river
  24. temple — side of the head

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