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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: date · ground · straw · stand · current · pit · temple · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stand — to bear
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. current — of water
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. current — electric
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. current — happening now
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pit — a hole
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. pit — in a race
  21. ground — a position
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bat — the animal
  24. date — the fruit

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