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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 · wax · cell · leaves · present · temple · pitcher · hide

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cell — in biology
  8. present — the time now
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. present — a gift
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cell — a phone
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wax — to grow
  22. present — there
  23. leaves — lets stay
  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