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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 · temple · club · roll · hide · straw · bat · mug

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. mug — a face
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. club — for golf
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mug — a cup
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. straw — a straw man

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