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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: temple · hand · bark · firm · lean · cell · last · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. firm — decided
  3. last — final
  4. firm — steady
  5. cell — in biology
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. firm — a company
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. last — to go on
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. hand — in cards
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. last — finally
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. lean — to bend
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. hand — help
  24. bark — of a tree

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