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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 · bat · net · cold · drill · object · track · cabinet

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. drill — army training
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. object — an aim
  4. drill — a practice
  5. net — for catching
  6. object — to protest
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cold — an illness
  9. object — a thing
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. track — a path
  12. net — in sport
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cold — not warm
  15. net — after costs
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. track — a song
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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