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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · cold · bat · row · staff · temple · squash · jam

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. march — the month
  8. row — to paddle
  9. squash — to crush
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cold — an illness
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. squash — the sport
  17. march — music
  18. staff — employees
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. cold — not warm
  24. row — a line

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