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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: mark · shower · wind · lean · kid · temple · pit · row

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pit — in a race
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. pit — a hole
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kid — child
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lean — to bend
  18. mark — a trace
  19. shower — rain
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. lean — thin
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mark — a grade
  24. shower — to wash

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