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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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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. craft — a skill
  3. spring — the season
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wind — moving air
  6. race — a contest
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. scale — in music
  11. race — humankind
  12. spring — of water
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — temperature
  17. craft — boats
  18. cell — a phone
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. scale — size or range
  22. race — the arms race
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cell — in biology

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