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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: kick · temple · mate · march · degree · race · land · staff

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. land — to come down
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mate — a friend
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. staff — a stick
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. race — humankind
  11. land — ground
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. mate — to breed
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kick — in football
  18. land — a country
  19. staff — employees
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mate — a partner
  22. degree — an amount
  23. march — music
  24. staff — employees

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