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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 · kid · stand · tube · roll · fall · straw · wind

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. roll — a cake
  3. kid — to tease
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. fall — to drop
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fall — the season
  19. roll — a list
  20. wind — moving air
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stand — to bear
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. fall — to drop

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