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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a line
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chest — a box
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. chest — of your body
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. file — a tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a document
  24. temple — a place of worship

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