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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: kick · temple · spring · fan · sharp · cell · race · stand

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. race — humankind
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. race — a contest
  8. spring — the season
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — a phone
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cell — in biology
  20. spring — of water
  21. race — the arms race
  22. kick — in football
  23. stand — to bear
  24. temple — side of the head

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