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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: cold · fine · toast · clip · snap · bore · temple · lash

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bore — to tire
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fine — all right
  17. clip — a video
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. toast — bread
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. cold — not warm

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