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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: fine · race · cell · land · saw · present · temple · file

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. land — a country
  3. present — the time now
  4. fine — all right
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. land — to come down
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. race — humankind
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cell — in biology
  12. file — a line of people
  13. saw — the tool
  14. file — a document
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. fine — high quality
  18. file — a tool
  19. land — ground
  20. present — there
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. present — a gift

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