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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: row · cold · toast · wave · scale · temple · trunk · field

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. row — to paddle
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. scale — in music
  16. row — a line
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. field — farmland
  19. cold — not warm
  20. field — a subject
  21. toast — bread
  22. cold — an illness
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

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