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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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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: squash · key · race · content · temple · court · chest · mug

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — a cup
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. key — the most important part
  8. race — humankind
  9. content — happy
  10. chest — a box
  11. key — in music
  12. court — of law
  13. squash — to crush
  14. court — for sport
  15. content — the amount
  16. squash — the sport
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. mug — to rob
  20. court — of a king
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. race — a contest

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