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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bear — the animal
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. shower — to wash
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. season — in sport
  8. ground — a position
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bear — the animal
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pit — in a race
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. branch — a division
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. season — of the year
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. ground — crushed
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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