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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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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: wake · stick · fall · firm · cold · roll · fork · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — an illness
  4. firm — decided
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. fall — the season
  12. fork — in a road
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wake — a trail
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — steady
  17. roll — a list
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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