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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: club · row · cold · temple · wake · ruler · cap · lie

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — a lid
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cap — a hat
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cold — not warm
  13. row — a line
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wake — a trail
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. cap — of ice
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cold — the Cold War

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