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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.

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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · race · temple · stand · club · trunk

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. club — for golf
  6. stand — to bear
  7. race — the arms race
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cold — not warm
  15. race — humankind
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stand — on your feet

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