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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cold — not warm
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. band — a ring
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ground — a position
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. band — a music group
  19. season — of the year
  20. bass — low music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. season — in sport
  24. bat — in an idiom

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