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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: stem · racket · temple · plane · mine · bat · sharp · season

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mine — for digging
  7. season — of the year
  8. bat — the animal
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. plane — a tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. season — in sport
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. racket — a loud noise

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