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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stock — shares
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stock — goods
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kid — child
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. kid — to tease
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce

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