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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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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: mark · tear · bass · cabinet · cold · temple · file · net

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cold — not warm
  3. net — for catching
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tear — from crying
  14. net — after costs
  15. bass — low music
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mark — a grade
  23. net — in sport
  24. tear — to rip

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