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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — of a king
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bass — low music
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. court — for sport
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. court — of law
  24. patient — a sick person

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