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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.

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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: kick · cold · scale · bass · temple · drill · spell · wind

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kick — in football
  4. bass — the fish
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. scale — in music
  7. drill — a practice
  8. spell — magic
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cold — an illness
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spell — a short time
  15. drill — army training
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bass — low music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — letters
  22. wind — moving air
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. scale — size or range

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