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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: wound · roll · dip · coach · race · ball · temple · shower

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. race — the arms race
  5. roll — a list
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. roll — a cake
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ball — a great time
  14. shower — rain
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. dip — to sink
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. race — a contest
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. race — humankind
  24. roll — on a roll

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