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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: chair · lash · cold · rush · saw · stem · mark · temple

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stem — to come from
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rush — hurry
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mark — a grade
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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