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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: key · temple · field · bat · cabinet · file · date · kick

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. kick — in football
  3. bat — the animal
  4. field — for sport
  5. file — a document
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. file — a tool
  8. field — a subject
  9. file — a line of people
  10. key — for a lock
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. key — in music
  13. field — farmland
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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