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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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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: perch · mark · file · rest · bowl · chip · temple · bank

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chip — to eat
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. rest — a break
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bank — of a river
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. file — a tool
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. rest — what's left
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rest — what's left
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. file — a document
  24. perch — the fish

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