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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fall · patient · temple · season · last · cold · mine · drill

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. season — of the year
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. fall — the season
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fall — to drop
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. season — in sport
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — final
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. last — finally
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. fall — to drop
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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