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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: cap · temple · tube · mine · stock · shower · mate · wound

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. stock — shares
  6. tube — a container
  7. shower — to wash
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stock — goods
  16. cap — of ice
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cap — a lid
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. tube — the underground
  22. mate — to breed
  23. shower — rain
  24. mate — a partner

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