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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: cold · jam · kick · temple · cue · current · root · shower

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cue — a signal
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — not warm
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. root — of a plant
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. root — the cause
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. shower — to wash
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. cue — a hint
  15. current — of water
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. root — of a word
  18. cold — an illness
  19. shower — rain
  20. current — happening now
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cue — for pool
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. current — electric

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