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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: temple · wave · wind · mark · bat · spell · cold · cabinet

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spell — magic
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. mark — a grade
  24. spell — letters

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