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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 · cell · lean · ball · temple · snap · saw · dip

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. snap — to click
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cell — a phone
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. lean — to bend
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. lean — thin
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. saw — the tool
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ball — a great time
  20. cell — in biology
  21. ball — a dance
  22. cold — an illness
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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