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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. cell — in biology
  5. row — to paddle
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. cold — not warm
  9. current — electric
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cell — a phone
  13. current — of water
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. branch — a division
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. current — happening now
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. row — a line
  22. cold — an illness
  23. game — wild animals
  24. temple — a place of worship

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