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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: mate · game · kid · lash · temple · club · rock · bat

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rock — a stone
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. club — a group
  9. bat — the animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rock — music
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mate — a friend
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. kid — to tease
  19. game — a match
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a partner
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kid — child

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