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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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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: hand · board · temple · rest · present · bat · toast · prune

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rest — a break
  5. present — a gift
  6. board — to get on
  7. hand — in cards
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. board — a committee
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hand — help
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. prune — to trim
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. toast — bread
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. prune — to trim
  24. toast — the most admired

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