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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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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: wake · date · key · bowl · cell · shower · stick · temple

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. key — the most important part
  4. date — the fruit
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. shower — rain
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. key — in music
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. shower — to wash
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cell — a phone

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