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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: cold · rush · bore · pit · squash · march · temple · perch

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pit — a hole
  11. march — music
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bore — to tire
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — in a race
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rush — hurry
  19. march — the month
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. perch — for a bird

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