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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: bat · temple · ground · club · stand · spell · game · pitch

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ground — a position
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. spell — magic
  10. ground — crushed
  11. pitch — completely
  12. spell — letters
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. stand — to bear
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. temple — a place of worship

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