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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: temple · cold · rest · pound · fork · net · fine · march

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. march — music
  3. pound — a weight
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rest — a break
  7. net — for catching
  8. fine — all right
  9. march — the month
  10. net — after costs
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. net — in sport
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fine — a penalty

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