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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. drill — the tool
  4. present — a gift
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. ball — a dance
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. branch — a division
  9. cell — a phone
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. kick — in football
  15. present — there
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. spell — magic
  18. present — the time now
  19. drill — army training
  20. ball — a great time
  21. spell — a short time
  22. drill — a practice
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. spell — letters

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