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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: branch · temple · cold · hand · ground · cabinet · net · bass

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bass — low music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. hand — in cards
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cold — an illness
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. net — after costs
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. net — in sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. net — for catching
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. branch — a division
  19. bass — the fish
  20. ground — a position
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — help
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bass — the instrument

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