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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · leaves · bowl · temple · tear · wound

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. race — a contest
  3. tear — from crying
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. temple — a place of worship

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