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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: cell · temple · cue · craft · mine · kid · shower · game

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cue — a signal
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cell — in biology
  5. game — a match
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cell — a phone
  8. craft — boats
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kid — child
  11. cue — for pool
  12. mine — for digging
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. shower — to wash
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. kid — to tease
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cue — a hint
  24. mine — belonging to me

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