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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: wake · land · temple · bark · staff · saw · key · branch

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. staff — employees
  4. land — a country
  5. key — for a lock
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. land — to come down
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bark — to shout
  14. staff — a stick
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. key — in music
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. saw — the tool
  22. branch — a division
  23. saw — the tool
  24. staff — employees

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