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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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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: game · cap · temple · fall · lie · sharp · cold · bark

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. fall — the season
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. lie — to recline
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. fall — to drop
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cap — a lid
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bark — of a tree

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