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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cold — an illness
  5. content — happy
  6. rock — a stone
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rock — music
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. content — the amount
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. pitcher — a jug

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