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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 120 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: temple · staff · ground · wind · bear · tube · tear · swing

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bear — the animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tube — a container
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. swing — in golf
  13. ground — a position
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bear — the animal
  16. swing — music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tear — from crying
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. tear — to rip

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