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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: cold · staff · race · temple · fall · game · prune · racket

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. staff — employees
  11. fall — the season
  12. prune — to trim
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. staff — employees
  15. game — a match
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. game — wild animals
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. fall — to drop

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