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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. roll — a cake
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — final
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. chest — a box
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. ground — a position
  16. last — finally
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ground — crushed
  20. roll — a list
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ground — the earth
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fan — a supporter

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