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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. staff — employees
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. court — for sport
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. last — finally
  9. court — of a king
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. staff — a stick
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. last — to go on
  15. staff — employees
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. march — music
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. branch — a division
  20. march — the month
  21. court — of law
  22. march — the month
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. last — final

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