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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: cold · bowl · temple · kick · content · bat · track · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. kick — in football
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. track — a song
  24. bowl — a football final

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