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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 120 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: current · bat · temple · club · kid · plane

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bat — the animal
  3. club — for golf
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. club — for dancing
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. current — electric
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. current — of water
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. club — a group
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. current — happening now
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kid — child
  18. plane — a tool

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