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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: row · cold · temple · hand · spell · staff · bay · mark

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. staff — employees
  3. hand — help
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mark — a trace
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spell — a short time
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. staff — a stick
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. staff — employees
  13. spell — letters
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. spell — magic
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. row — a line
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hand — in cards

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