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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cap · mine · temple · game · shower · bay · band · current

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. band — a ring
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. current — of water
  6. band — a music group
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. game — wild animals
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cap — a lid
  19. current — happening now
  20. game — a match
  21. cap — a hat
  22. current — electric
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. temple — side of the head

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