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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: mouse · wind · degree · current · temple · mate · nail · cold

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wind — moving air
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. current — electric
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. current — of water
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. current — happening now
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. degree — temperature

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