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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: racket · fork · march · race · temple · bat

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. race — the arms race
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bat — the animal
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. march — the month
  9. race — a contest
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. march — the month
  12. race — humankind
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. fork — in a road
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bat — for baseball

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