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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: roll · bat · mouse · object · temple · file · craft · pop

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pop — music
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a skill
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bat — the animal
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pop — to visit
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. file — a tool
  16. roll — a list
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — a thing
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pop — soda

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