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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 120 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: perch · temple · press · vault · pitcher · hand · drill · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. press — a publisher
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. club — a group
  8. drill — a practice
  9. club — for dancing
  10. drill — the tool
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. perch — the fish
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. vault — a safe
  21. press — to push
  22. drill — army training
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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