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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: pit · cold · temple · branch · wind · suit · kid · dip

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. dip — a sauce
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pit — a hole
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. kid — to tease
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. suit — to fit
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. dip — to sink
  10. branch — a division
  11. suit — clothes
  12. cold — an illness
  13. suit — in cards
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pit — in a race
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — moving air
  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