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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: bat · roll · stick · spell · pitch · face · cold · temple

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. face — to confront
  8. pitch — completely
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cold — not warm
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. spell — letters
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. roll — a list
  18. face — to point toward
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. roll — a cake
  22. spell — magic
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spell — a short time

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