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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: hand · temple · foot · fan · kid · stem · mug · ground

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mug — a face
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. stem — to come from
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. mug — to rob
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. kid — child
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. mug — a cup

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