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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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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: band · cold · mark · wave · temple · bass · bowl · bat

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bass — low music
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. band — a ring
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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