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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: last · row · wound · bass · hand · temple · mate · season

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mate — a friend
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. season — of the year
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. hand — help
  9. row — a line
  10. wound — an injury
  11. last — to go on
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. last — final
  14. wound — an injury
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. last — finally
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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