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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 120 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hand — help
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. bound — obliged
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — for digging
  10. degree — from a university
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. degree — an amount
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. staff — a stick
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. lie — to recline
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wind — to turn a key

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