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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: temple · mine · game · pop · rest · tear · stand · degree

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rest — what's left
  5. tear — from crying
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. degree — temperature
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — to visit
  16. stand — to bear
  17. pop — music
  18. rest — a break
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. tear — to rip
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. rest — what's left

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