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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. hand — help
  3. staff — employees
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cap — a hat
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rule — a law
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wound — an injury
  15. staff — employees
  16. rule — government
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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