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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: staff · bat · mug · march · clip · pass · racket · temple

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. clip — to cut
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. clip — a video
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. march — the month
  9. staff — employees
  10. march — music
  11. clip — for paper
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mug — a face
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. staff — a stick
  17. pass — a permit
  18. mug — to rob
  19. march — the month
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mug — a cup
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. staff — employees

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