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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: temple · wax · lean · last · cold · hand · ball · lie

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lean — to bend
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. hand — in cards
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. hand — help
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. lean — thin
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. last — finally
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wax — to grow
  21. last — to go on
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cold — an illness

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