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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. suit — clothes
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wound — an injury
  9. last — finally
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. suit — in cards
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. branch — a division
  15. spell — magic
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. suit — to fit

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