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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: cabinet · band · temple · tear · pit · prune · key · mouse

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. key — for a lock
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. key — in music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. band — a ring
  13. key — the most important part
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. pit — in a race
  24. band — a music group

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