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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: perch · bass · cold · stock · suit · temple · pitch · bound

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bound — certain
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bass — low music
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bound — tied together
  11. cold — an illness
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pitch — completely
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. suit — to fit
  16. suit — clothes
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stock — shares
  19. bass — the fish
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. stock — goods
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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