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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: racket · fork · march · race · temple · bat · season · hand

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. hand — help
  4. fork — in a road
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. race — the arms race
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. march — the month
  12. race — humankind
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. season — in sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. race — a contest
  18. bat — the animal
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. march — the month
  22. season — of the year
  23. march — music
  24. hand — in cards

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