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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 · race · tube · ground · stand · drill · cap · degree

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. drill — a practice
  3. tube — a container
  4. race — a contest
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. race — humankind
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. ground — the earth
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cap — a lid
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. ground — a position
  18. race — the arms race
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cap — a hat
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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