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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: temple · sharp · hide · pitcher · bulb · ground · chest · club

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — a position
  5. sharp — clever
  6. chest — of your body
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. club — for dancing
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bulb — for light
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. club — a group
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bulb — for light
  17. chest — a box
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. ground — the earth
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. club — for golf
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chest — of your body

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