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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: ball · kick · temple · racket · race · staff · hand · drill

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. hand — in cards
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ball — a dance
  12. race — a contest
  13. staff — a stick
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. drill — the tool
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. kick — in football
  21. drill — army training
  22. hand — help
  23. ball — a great time
  24. drill — a practice

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