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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bank · cap · current · spring · degree · wound · temple · spell

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. spring — of water
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bank — for money
  12. spell — letters
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bank — for money
  16. current — electric
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bank — of a river
  19. spell — magic
  20. spring — the season
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. degree — from a university

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