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

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mark — a trace
  3. kid — child
  4. tube — the underground
  5. race — a contest
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tube — a container
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — to tease
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. race — humankind
  22. mark — a grade
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. temple — a place of worship

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