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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: court · kick · drill · bat · perch · jam · temple · kid

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bat — the animal
  4. drill — army training
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. perch — the fish
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. drill — a practice
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. court — of law
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kick — in football
  16. drill — the tool
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. kid — child
  19. court — of a king
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. court — for sport
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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