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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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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: march · present · row · bat · stick · temple · kid · wake

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. present — there
  6. march — the month
  7. row — a line
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wake — a trail
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. present — the time now
  18. march — the month
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. kid — child
  21. row — to paddle
  22. march — music
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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