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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: fall · cell · temple · kid · mate · shower

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. shower — rain
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cell — in biology
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mate — a partner
  9. shower — to wash
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fall — the season
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. kid — child
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kid — to tease
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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