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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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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: stand · kid · temple · cold · rush · content · chest · cabinet

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. content — the amount
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. stand — to bear
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — not warm
  14. content — happy
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rush — hurry
  17. chest — a box
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. temple — side of the head

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