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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: bowl · arm · mouse · cold · temple · court · root · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. court — for sport
  4. root — of a word
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. root — the cause
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. court — of law
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. root — of a plant
  20. rash — a series
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. court — of a king
  24. bowl — a football final

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