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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.

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: bat · cold · bass · mug · bank · date · kick · sharp

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kick — in football
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. mug — to rob
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bank — for money
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cold — not warm
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mug — a face
  24. bass — low music

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