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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: game · prune · temple · season · bat · tube · court · hide

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. game — a match
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. court — for sport
  8. tube — a container
  9. season — in sport
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. court — of a king
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. game — wild animals
  23. court — of law
  24. hide — to keep secret

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