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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: jam · fork · season · wound · file · saw · wind · temple

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. saw — the tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. file — a document
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. season — in sport
  12. fork — in a road
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wound — an injury

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