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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: last · present · scale · temple · craft · degree · cap · snap

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cap — of ice
  5. degree — an amount
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. present — a gift
  8. degree — from a university
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. present — there
  12. last — to go on
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. scale — in music
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cap — a lid
  17. snap — to click
  18. scale — size or range
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. present — the time now
  21. craft — a skill
  22. last — final
  23. cap — a hat
  24. last — finally

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