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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: wound · chair · sharp · bowl · mine · temple · cap · saw

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cap — of ice
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chair — a leader
  15. saw — the tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. sharp — clever
  24. mine — for digging

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