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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 120 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: temple · kick · field · snap · bat · mark · fan · perch

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — farmland
  7. mark — a grade
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mark — a trace
  11. snap — to click
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. field — for sport
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. field — a subject

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