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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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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: ball · temple · fan · bear · calf · straw · race · rest

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rest — a break
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. race — a contest
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. race — the arms race
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. rest — what's left
  24. race — humankind

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