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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: bore · cold · vault · dip · temple · club · band · tube

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. cold — an illness
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. band — a ring
  6. club — for golf
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. club — for dancing
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cold — not warm
  16. club — a group
  17. bore — to tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. tube — a container
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. band — a music group
  24. bore — to drill

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