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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: season · bay · cold · pitch · pass · wound · temple · snap

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. cold — an illness
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cold — not warm
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. wound — an injury
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to click
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. season — in sport
  24. pass — a permit

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