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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cell · mine · racket · pitcher · season · club · bark

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. club — for dancing
  12. season — of the year
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. club — for golf
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. club — a group
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. season — in sport
  23. cell — in biology
  24. racket — for tennis

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