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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: safe · temple · wind · perch · last · race · shower · branch

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. race — humankind
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. wind — moving air
  9. last — final
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. last — finally
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. perch — the fish
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. shower — to wash
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. race — the arms race
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. shower — rain
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. race — a contest

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