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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: kick · tear · last · temple · cap · cell

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — of ice
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — final
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. last — finally
  8. kick — in football
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cap — a hat
  11. last — to go on
  12. cell — a phone
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cell — in biology
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cap — a lid
  17. kick — with a leg
  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