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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mug — a face
  5. bore — to drill
  6. track — a path
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mug — to rob
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. mug — a cup
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. file — a document
  16. track — a song
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. file — a tool
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. track — to keep track
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. march — the month

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