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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. cold — not warm
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rest — what's left
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rule — a law
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rule — government
  15. branch — a division
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. stem — to come from
  20. cold — an illness
  21. file — a tool
  22. rest — a break
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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