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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: temple · chip · key · jam · spring · lie · cold · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. chip — to eat
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cold — not warm
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chip — for betting
  15. key — in music
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. spring — a coil
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. lie — an untruth

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