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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
468
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 · stem · drill · season · degree · shower · content · lie

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. stem — to come from
  4. season — in sport
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. drill — the tool
  9. shower — rain
  10. content — happy
  11. drill — a practice
  12. shower — to wash
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. drill — army training
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. degree — an amount
  19. content — the amount
  20. season — of the year
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. degree — from a university
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. lie — to recline

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