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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: cold · foot · temple · squash · stick · lean · roll · fan

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. squash — the sport
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — an illness
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. lean — to bend
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. foot — a measure
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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