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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. band — a ring
  3. spring — a coil
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. spring — of water
  6. chest — a box
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. chest — of your body
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. scale — size or range
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. degree — temperature
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. dip — to sink
  21. band — a music group
  22. spring — the season
  23. scale — in music
  24. leaves — lets stay

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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