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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: hide · bound · temple · scale · trunk · game · degree · cabinet

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — certain
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. scale — in music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. game — a match
  17. degree — temperature
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. bound — tied together

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