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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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 — to stop sleeping
  3. bank — for money
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. band — a ring
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wake — a trail
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. foot — a measure
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — of a river
  21. cold — not warm
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. band — a music group
  24. cold — an illness

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