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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. last — to go on
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. swing — music
  8. cell — a phone
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. roll — a cake
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. court — for sport
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. court — of a king
  18. cell — in biology
  19. court — of law
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. degree — temperature

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