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

Word bank: temple · cap · degree · swing · cell · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. swing — music
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. degree — temperature
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. swing — in golf
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cell — in biology
  11. tear — to rip
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cap — a hat
  18. temple — side of the head

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