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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 · fine · cold · bank · net · squash · wind · snap

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bank — of a river
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. snap — to click
  14. bank — for money
  15. squash — to crush
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fine — all right
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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