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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 120 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: wind · mate · kick · cold · ruler · prune · temple · face

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cold — an illness
  4. kick — in football
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. mate — a friend
  7. face — to confront
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — to breed
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. face — part of the head
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. face — to point toward
  24. ruler — for measuring

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