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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: temple · stand · wake · tear · root · fall · wind · saw

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. root — of a word
  4. fall — to drop
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. tear — to rip
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stand — to bear
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fall — the season
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. wake — a trail
  19. root — the cause
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. root — of a plant
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. temple — a place of worship

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