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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: bass · cold · stock · temple · lash · game · pitch · rush

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. game — a match
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. stock — shares
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rush — hurry
  22. stock — goods
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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