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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: stock · fork · pop · mate · bat · can · temple · season

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bat — the animal
  3. can — a tin
  4. stock — shares
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mate — to breed
  7. season — of the year
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pop — soda
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. stock — goods
  14. mate — a friend
  15. fork — in a road
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. can — a tin
  19. mate — a partner
  20. season — in sport
  21. can — to be able to
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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