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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: bass · temple · racket · bay · pass · tube · capital · cold

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. tube — a container
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — a permit
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. capital — money

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