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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fan · track · cold · patient · chip · wake · field

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. track — a song
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. chip — to eat
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. track — a path
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. field — a subject
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cold — the Cold War

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