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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: bowl · rule · leaves · cold · cap · temple · perch · field

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. field — for sport
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. field — farmland
  12. rule — a law
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cap — a hat
  16. field — a subject
  17. cap — of ice
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cap — a lid
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. rule — government
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. leaves — to go away

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