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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: cold · pop · temple · vault · cell · craft

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cell — a phone
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. pop — soda
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — not warm
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cell — in biology

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