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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: fork · cold · wake · cue · content · firm · temple · shower

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. firm — steady
  3. shower — rain
  4. content — the amount
  5. cold — an illness
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. firm — a company
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. firm — decided
  14. cold — not warm
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cue — a signal
  17. fork — in a road
  18. content — happy
  19. cue — for pool
  20. wake — a trail
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cue — a hint
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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