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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: file · bat · wave · wound · cold · mine · temple · ruler

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. temple — side of the head
  2. bat — the animal
  3. file — a document
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mine — for digging
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wound — an injury
  20. file — a tool
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bat — for baseball
  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