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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pop — soda
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rest — what's left
  11. game — wild animals
  12. branch — a division
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. pop — to visit
  17. game — a match
  18. rest — a break
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pop — music
  21. mine — for digging
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. file — a line of people

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