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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: tear · arm · temple · pop · race · sharp · object · charge

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. sharp — clever
  3. charge — a price
  4. tear — to rip
  5. race — humankind
  6. tear — from crying
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. object — an aim
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pop — to visit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. race — a contest
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — electricity
  16. object — to protest
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pop — music
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. object — a thing
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pop — soda

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