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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: fan · cold · temple · rock · stick · prune · bat · firm

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. firm — a company
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. firm — decided
  7. firm — steady
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rock — music
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — not warm
  19. prune — to trim
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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