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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: craft · temple · chest · court · tear · pass · file · last

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. file — a document
  5. last — finally
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. court — for sport
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. craft — boats
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — to go on
  20. court — of a king
  21. file — a tool
  22. last — final
  23. craft — a skill
  24. tear — to rip

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