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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: spring · toast · bass · temple · cold · mouse · present · tear

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bass — low music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spring — the season
  6. cold — not warm
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. spring — of water
  10. present — the time now
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. present — a gift
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tear — to rip
  17. toast — bread
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bass — the fish
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. present — there
  23. tear — from crying
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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