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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. stand — to bear
  4. degree — temperature
  5. clip — to cut
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. clip — for paper
  13. court — of a king
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. clip — a video
  17. court — for sport
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. court — of law
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — an amount

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