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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: jam · race · temple · game · roll · cold · drill · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. race — humankind
  5. roll — a cake
  6. race — a contest
  7. game — a match
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. race — the arms race
  11. drill — a practice
  12. roll — a list
  13. drill — the tool
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. drill — army training
  24. temple — a place of worship

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