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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bound — tied together
  4. deal — to handle
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. court — of a king
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cell — in biology
  11. degree — temperature
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. court — for sport
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. court — of law
  23. bulb — for light
  24. degree — an amount

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