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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: temple · fan · leaves · track · cold · bank · sharp · wake

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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. sharp — exactly
  4. track — a path
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bank — of a river
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. track — a song
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bank — for money
  19. track — to keep track
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bank — for money
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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