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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  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. temple — side of the head
  2. cap — a lid
  3. stand — to bear
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. branch — a division
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cap — of ice
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cap — a hat
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mouse — the animal
  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