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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: pit · stand · mine · rush · track · cold · temple · sharp

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. stand — to bear
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. sharp — clever
  5. track — a path
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. rush — hurry
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cold — an illness
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. track — a song
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cold — not warm
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pit — a hole
  18. mine — for digging
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. track — to keep track
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rush — to hurry

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