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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.

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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: rush · pit · fan · cold · wave · cap · cell · temple

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cap — of ice
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. cell — in biology

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