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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 120 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: hand · cell · pop · season · net · shower · can · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. net — for catching
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. can — a tin
  5. cell — a phone
  6. shower — rain
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pop — music
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. shower — to wash
  11. can — to be able to
  12. net — after costs
  13. season — of the year
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. can — a tin
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pop — soda
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. season — in sport
  20. net — in sport
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. hand — help
  24. pop — to visit

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