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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: wake · race · temple · kick · wound · spring · mine · club

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spring — the season
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. club — a group
  13. race — a contest
  14. spring — of water
  15. wound — an injury
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wound — an injury
  20. club — for golf
  21. race — humankind
  22. wake — a trail
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wake — before a funeral

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