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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · temple · wake · mine · staff · fall · degree · nail

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. ball — a dance
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. staff — employees
  10. wake — a trail
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. staff — employees
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ball — a great time
  19. degree — from a university
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. fall — the season
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. temple — a place of worship

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