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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: lean · wind · straw · bowl · rash · cell · temple · jam

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cell — a phone
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. lean — thin
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cell — in biology
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rash — a series

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