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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: branch · club · staff · tube · temple · bat · band · date

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — a group
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tube — a container
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. club — for golf
  13. staff — employees
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. band — a music group
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tube — the underground
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. band — a ring
  22. date — the fruit
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. branch — of a bank

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