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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: spring · swing · temple · row · saw · pitcher · cold · bowl

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. spring — the season
  9. row — a line
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. spring — a coil
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. swing — music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spring — of water
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. swing — to play on

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