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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. track — a song
  4. sharp — clever
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. shower — rain
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. shower — to wash
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. track — to keep track
  21. rash — hasty
  22. track — a path
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. sharp — with an edge

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