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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: mine · club · calf · cold · last · patient · fall · temple

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. last — final
  6. club — for dancing
  7. fall — to drop
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cold — an illness
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. last — finally
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. club — for golf
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fall — the season
  16. club — a group
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mine — for digging
  19. last — to go on
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cold — not warm

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