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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 120 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 · pitcher · cold · key · temple · present · craft · wind

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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 — in music
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. present — the time now
  5. craft — boats
  6. present — a gift
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — moving air
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — not warm
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cold — an illness
  18. present — there
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — for a lock
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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