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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
468
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: ball · pitcher · temple · cold · pass · mark · clip · march

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ball — a dance
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pass — a permit
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ball — a great time
  13. mark — a grade
  14. march — the month
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cold — an illness
  17. march — the month
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. march — music
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. mark — a trace

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