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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: race · cabinet · patient · temple · cold · fall · sharp · lash

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. sharp — clever
  9. race — the arms race
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. race — a contest
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. race — humankind
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fall — the season

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