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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. last — to go on
  3. band — a music group
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. staff — employees
  8. pit — a hole
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pit — in a race
  11. last — finally
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. band — a ring
  15. last — final
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. pass — a permit

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