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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: vault · straw · bound · cap · temple · bat · date · wound

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cap — a hat
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wound — an injury
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. date — the fruit
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bound — certain
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cap — of ice
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wound — an injury

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