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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · season · game · vault · bat · temple · mouse · clip

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. clip — a video
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. clip — to cut
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. season — in sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. vault — a safe
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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