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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: temple · cold · safe · bank · shower · wound · key · ground

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. key — the most important part
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bank — for money
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bank — for money
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wound — an injury
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cold — an illness
  17. key — in music
  18. ground — a position
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. shower — rain
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. ground — crushed

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