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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: bass · kid · temple · clip · pitch · face · cold · deal

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. face — to confront
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bass — low music
  14. deal — to handle
  15. clip — a video
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kid — child
  20. face — part of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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