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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: temple · chest · season · squash · key · cold · bark · dip

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — not warm
  3. season — of the year
  4. key — in music
  5. season — in sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. key — the most important part
  11. squash — to crush
  12. dip — to sink
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. squash — the sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. key — for a lock
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. chest — a box
  24. bark — to shout

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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