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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: wake · temple · tear · cell · mark · degree · rush · ground

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. wake — a trail
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. ground — a position
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cell — in biology
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mark — a trace
  19. ground — crushed
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rush — hurry
  23. degree — from a university
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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