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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.

Make a worksheet

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 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stand — to bear
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bass — low music
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pit — a hole
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bass — the fish
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cold — an illness
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kick — in football

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