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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: wind · toast · last · cold · temple · bay

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. last — final
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wind — moving air
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. toast — bread
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bay — a part of the sea

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