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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: charge · season · dip · march · temple · tear · lash · cold

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. charge — electricity
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cold — not warm
  15. season — in sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — in control
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. tear — to rip
  21. march — music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. dip — to sink
  24. tear — from crying

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