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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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Word bank
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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: pitch · tear · fork · temple · wave · cold

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pitch — completely
  18. tear — to rip

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