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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mug — a face
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mug — a cup
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ground — crushed
  8. can — a tin
  9. ground — the earth
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. degree — from a university
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ground — a position
  18. mug — to rob
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. can — a tin
  24. bat — the animal

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