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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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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: row · dip · racket · mouse · stem · temple · pitch · bat

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stem — to come from
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. row — a line
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. dip — to sink
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — the animal

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