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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: temple · foot · ground · bass · rush · shower · dip · mine

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ground — a position
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bass — low music
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. ground — crushed
  11. shower — rain
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bass — the fish
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. shower — to wash
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. dip — to sink
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. foot — a measure

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