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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rock · wake · field · temple · prune · cold · stand · current

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. field — a subject
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. wake — a trail
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stand — to bear
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cold — an illness
  18. current — of water
  19. current — happening now
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. current — electric
  22. rock — music
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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