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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: cold · jam · lash · season · temple · hand · rash · track

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. season — of the year
  5. rash — hasty
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. hand — in cards
  8. track — a path
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. rash — a series
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. hand — help
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. track — a song
  18. season — in sport
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. track — to keep track

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