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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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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: wound · deal · cold · coach · fan · lean · court · temple

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. cold — not warm
  4. court — of law
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. court — for sport
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. lean — to bend
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wound — an injury
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. court — of a king
  22. wound — an injury
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. fan — a supporter

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