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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: tear · temple · arm · degree · bay · march · shower · kid

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. kid — child
  4. shower — to wash
  5. tear — from crying
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. degree — temperature
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. march — the month
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. march — music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. kid — to tease
  23. tear — to rip
  24. shower — rain

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