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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 · chair · fork · cold · lie · pass · plane · cell

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pass — a permit
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — not warm
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cell — a phone
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. fork — in a road
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cell — in biology
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. plane — a tool
  24. lie — to recline

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