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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: last · wind · cold · row · face · club · temple · season

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. last — to go on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — not warm
  5. last — finally
  6. row — a line
  7. club — for dancing
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. season — of the year
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — final
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. club — a group
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. club — for golf
  23. season — in sport
  24. face — to point toward

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