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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: temple · bat · perch · toast · kick · pit · cap · kid

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. kick — in football
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. kid — child
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pit — a hole
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cap — a hat
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. pit — in a race

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