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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: temple · race · mug · fork · stick · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mug — a cup
  5. race — a contest
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. race — humankind
  8. kid — child
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mug — a face
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mug — to rob
  14. fork — in a road
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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