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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: stock · snap · shower · game · pass · cold · temple · rest

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. snap — to click
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. stock — shares
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. stock — goods
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rest — what's left
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. shower — rain
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — not warm
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. rest — a break
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pass — a permit

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