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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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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: bat · temple · chair · cap · kick · tube · lash · field

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cap — a lid
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. kick — in football
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cap — of ice
  13. field — a subject
  14. cap — a hat
  15. tube — the underground
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. chair — a leader
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  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