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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pound — a weight
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. cold — not warm
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. plane — a tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. degree — from a university
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — temperature
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. deal — an agreement

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