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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: bass · firm · temple · rest · race · ground · fork · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. rest — a break
  5. branch — a division
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bass — low music
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bass — the fish
  16. race — a contest
  17. firm — a company
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fork — in a road
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — steady
  22. rest — what's left
  23. race — humankind
  24. rest — what's left

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