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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: fork · bat · mouse · march · field · lash · straw · temple

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. field — a subject
  3. march — the month
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. march — music

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