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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: land · bear · season · fall · cold · temple · drill · lash

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. season — of the year
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. land — a country
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. land — ground
  17. bear — the animal
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bear — the animal
  23. land — to come down
  24. drill — army training

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