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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. kid — child
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mark — a grade
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kid — to tease
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mark — a trace
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. chair — to sit on

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