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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 · hand · bat · rush · cap · field · mouse · sharp

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. rush — hurry
  6. field — farmland
  7. cap — a lid
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. field — for sport
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. hand — in cards
  16. field — a subject
  17. hand — help
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. sharp — exactly

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