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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 · mark · rush · game · wound · bat · temple · cold

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rush — hurry
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — the animal
  20. charge — in control
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. charge — a price
  24. game — wild animals

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