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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: club · temple · cold · spring · rest · field · drill · squash

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — the tool
  4. spring — the season
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. field — for sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rest — what's left
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. drill — army training
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. club — a group
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. field — farmland
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rest — a break
  21. spring — of water
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. rest — what's left

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