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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · perch · bank · cell · temple · present · cold · nail

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bank — for money
  4. present — the time now
  5. bank — of a river
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cell — a phone
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bank — for money
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. present — there
  18. perch — the fish
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bore — to drill
  23. present — a gift
  24. bore — gave birth

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