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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rest — what's left
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rush — hurry
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rest — a break
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cold — an illness

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