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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: sharp · cold · land · temple · court · bass · wound · lie

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. court — for sport
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. court — of a king
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. land — ground
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. sharp — clever
  14. lie — to recline
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. land — to come down
  22. bass — low music
  23. court — of law
  24. land — a country

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