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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. present — the time now
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rest — what's left
  7. shower — rain
  8. present — a gift
  9. mine — for digging
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rest — a break
  14. present — there
  15. content — happy
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. degree — temperature
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mine — belonging to me

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