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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cold — not warm
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. last — finally
  7. wind — moving air
  8. club — for dancing
  9. rash — hasty
  10. field — for sport
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fork — in a road
  18. rash — a series
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. field — a subject
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wind — to turn a key

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