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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: field · temple · dip · club · tube · swing · pop · row

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. club — for golf
  3. tube — the underground
  4. swing — in golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. tube — a container
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. pop — soda
  9. swing — music
  10. row — to paddle
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. swing — to play on
  15. field — a subject
  16. dip — to sink
  17. pop — music
  18. row — a line
  19. field — for sport
  20. club — a group
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pop — to visit
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. field — farmland

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