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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cue — a signal
  5. fall — to drop
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. foot — a measure
  8. cue — a hint
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cue — for pool
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. band — a ring
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fall — the season
  20. band — a music group
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cold — an illness
  24. temple — a place of worship

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