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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: wind · cabinet · fall · game · temple · charge · ball · file

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. fall — to drop
  11. file — a document
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. file — a tool
  14. fall — the season
  15. charge — in control
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. game — a match
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. charge — electricity
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wind — moving air
  23. game — wild animals
  24. charge — a price

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