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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 120 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. spring — the season
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bound — tied together
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. spring — a coil
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bound — obliged
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. court — for sport
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. court — of a king
  17. bound — certain
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. branch — a division
  23. cell — in biology
  24. court — of law

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