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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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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: degree · patient · chip · bear · race · can · rule · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rule — a law
  3. race — humankind
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. race — a contest
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. can — to be able to
  10. degree — an amount
  11. race — the arms race
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chip — to eat
  17. can — a tin
  18. chip — for betting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. can — a tin
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rule — government

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