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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: date · bat · straw · rush · ground · pitch · temple · sharp

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. rush — hurry
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. sharp — clever
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. ground — a position
  11. date — the fruit
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. ground — crushed
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pitch — completely
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rush — a thrill

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