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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wake · saw · stock · cold · file · temple · lie · chair

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lie — to recline
  9. saw — the tool
  10. file — a document
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. stock — shares
  13. file — a tool
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stock — goods
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. saw — the tool

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