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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 120 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: club · temple · stand · last · cold · cap · fork · fall

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. fork — in a road
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. last — final
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — an illness
  17. last — to go on
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fall — the season
  20. stand — to bear
  21. club — for golf
  22. last — finally
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. club — a group

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