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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.

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Word bank
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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: file · cell · content · ground · branch · pass · temple · patient

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. content — happy
  3. branch — a division
  4. file — a tool
  5. pass — a permit
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ground — crushed
  10. content — the amount
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. ground — a position
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ground — the earth
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cell — a phone
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. file — a line of people
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. file — a document

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