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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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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: rush · bank · bat · toast · cold · rash · temple · board

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rash — hasty
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rash — a series
  16. rush — hurry
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. bank — for money
  19. toast — bread
  20. bank — of a river
  21. board — a committee
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bank — for money

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