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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: temple · wind · chip · hand · date · bat

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chip — to eat
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wind — moving air
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bat — the animal
  13. date — the fruit
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. hand — help
  17. chip — for betting
  18. hand — in cards

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