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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: bat · spell · race · ground · key · can · pop · temple

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pop — soda
  4. can — a tin
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. key — in music
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ground — a position
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. can — a tin
  12. key — for a lock
  13. can — to be able to
  14. pop — music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. pop — to visit
  18. ground — the earth
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. spell — magic
  21. race — a contest
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bat — for baseball

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