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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: cold · cabinet · firm · spell · temple · wind · last · snap

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. snap — to click
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cold — not warm
  13. firm — steady
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. firm — a company
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. firm — decided
  22. spell — magic
  23. last — finally
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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