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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: drill · cold · bear · racket · arm · temple · rash · wound

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bear — the animal
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — an injury
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — hasty
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. wound — an injury
  10. drill — the tool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. drill — a practice
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. rash — a series
  17. cold — an illness
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. drill — army training
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bear — the animal

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