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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: rule · mate · temple · shower · bulb · bat · bank · dip

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — for money
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rule — a law
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rule — government
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bank — of a river
  16. mate — a partner
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. dip — to sink
  20. mate — a friend
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. shower — rain
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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