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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: foot · cell · race · mine · wound · calf · temple · squash

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cell — a phone
  8. squash — the sport
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. cell — in biology
  11. race — humankind
  12. wound — an injury
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wound — an injury
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. squash — to crush
  21. race — the arms race
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. race — a contest

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