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

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. chip — to eat
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mug — a cup
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. mug — a face
  9. stem — to come from
  10. hand — help
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mug — to rob
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. date — the fruit
  23. hand — in cards
  24. date — on the calendar

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