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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: temple · snap · season · swing · racket · pitcher · bank · cold

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bank — for money
  4. swing — music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. season — of the year
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cold — not warm
  11. swing — in golf
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. snap — to click
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bank — for money
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. season — in sport
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. swing — to play on
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pitcher — a jug

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