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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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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. fine — all right
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. fork — in a road
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fine — high quality
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bear — the animal

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