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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: perch · cue · hide · stick · temple · cold · bound · foot

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. foot — a measure
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bound — obliged
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. cold — an illness
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bound — tied together
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bound — certain
  19. cue — for pool
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cold — not warm
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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