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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · shower · bat · content · temple · jam · ground · swing

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. shower — rain
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. shower — to wash
  5. last — final
  6. content — happy
  7. swing — music
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. last — finally
  10. bat — the animal
  11. swing — in golf
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. ground — a position
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. swing — to play on
  18. last — to go on
  19. ground — the earth
  20. content — the amount
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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