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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: temple · cap · nail · shower · chest · ground · mouse · stock

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. ground — the earth
  4. chest — of your body
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. stock — goods
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. shower — to wash
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. shower — rain
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — shares
  16. chest — a box
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cap — a lid
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. temple — side of the head

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