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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
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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: lie · chip · spring · temple · chest · shower · can · cold

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. can — to be able to
  5. chest — a box
  6. cold — not warm
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chest — of your body
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. shower — rain
  12. chip — to eat
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. spring — the season
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. spring — of water
  17. cold — an illness
  18. can — a tin
  19. chip — for betting
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chest — of your body
  23. shower — to wash
  24. can — a tin

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