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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: cold · fall · temple · bore · band · bay · spring · leaves

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. fall — to drop
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. fall — the season
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. band — a music group
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bore — to tire
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cold — not warm
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. cold — an illness
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. spring — of water
  24. bore — to drill

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