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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.

Make a worksheet

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: stock · bass · pit · land · leaves · temple · cold · row

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. land — to come down
  6. row — a line
  7. cold — not warm
  8. land — a country
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pit — a hole
  12. land — ground
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. stock — goods
  17. bass — low music
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — in a race
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. temple — side of the head

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