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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: stand · temple · bass · cell · cold · rash · lean · mate

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — an illness
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lean — thin
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lean — to bend
  24. rash — a series

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