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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · staff · arm · racket · temple · date · hand · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. spring — a coil
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. staff — employees
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spring — the season
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. spring — of water
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. staff — employees
  16. hand — help
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — in cards
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. staff — a stick
  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