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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 120 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: kick · cold · bat · fine · branch · season · pass · ground

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. season — of the year
  3. pass — a permit
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bat — the animal
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. season — in sport
  13. branch — a division
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. fine — high quality
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ground — crushed
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fine — all right
  22. kick — in football
  23. ground — the earth
  24. branch — of a tree

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