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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: temple · craft · fan · cold · plane · foot · bat · rash

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. rash — a series
  9. bat — the animal
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. craft — a skill
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. foot — a measure
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rash — hasty
  19. craft — boats
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. foot — the bottom

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