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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: temple · chair · racket · bass · tear · bat · shower · craft

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. tear — from crying
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bat — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. shower — rain
  11. tear — from crying
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bass — the fish
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — boats
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bass — low music
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. temple — side of the head

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