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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: saw · cabinet · content · temple · spring · race · hide · lie

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. saw — the tool
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. content — the amount
  14. spring — the season
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. lie — to recline
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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