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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 · dip · ball · game · temple · bat · jam · last

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. ball — a dance
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. ball — a great time
  6. last — to go on
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. club — for dancing
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. last — final
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. dip — to sink
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. game — a match
  19. club — for golf
  20. last — finally
  21. game — wild animals
  22. club — a group
  23. bat — the animal
  24. temple — a place of worship

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