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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: shower · race · key · sharp · temple · wind · content · jam

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. wind — moving air
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. key — for a lock
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — clever
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. key — the most important part
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. shower — rain
  13. race — humankind
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. content — happy
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — a contest
  20. key — in music
  21. content — the amount
  22. shower — to wash
  23. race — the arms race
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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