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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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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: spring · temple · ground · wind · row · bay · bat · deal

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. spring — the season
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. ground — crushed
  11. row — to paddle
  12. deal — to handle
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. row — a line
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. spring — of water
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. spring — a coil
  22. ground — a position
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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