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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: temple · clip · fine · bowl · net · pitch · jam · cold

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — an illness
  4. net — in sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cold — not warm
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. clip — a video
  12. pitch — completely
  13. fine — high quality
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. clip — for paper
  18. net — after costs
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. net — for catching
  24. bowl — to roll

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