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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 · hand · degree · deal · squash · fine · lean · spring

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. squash — to crush
  3. hand — in cards
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. lean — to bend
  8. degree — from a university
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. spring — a coil
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. hand — help
  16. spring — of water
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fine — all right
  19. degree — an amount
  20. deal — to handle
  21. spring — the season
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. squash — the vegetable

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