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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: bass · cold · sharp · ball · branch · hide · temple · bark

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. ball — a dance
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bass — the fish
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bass — low music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. sharp — clever
  24. hide — animal skin

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