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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: club · jam · rush · spring · perch · bat · stem · temple

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bat — the animal
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. perch — the fish
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rush — hurry
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. spring — of water
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bat — in an idiom

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