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

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rock — music
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bank — for money
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rock — a stone
  11. club — for golf
  12. bank — for money
  13. club — for dancing
  14. roll — a cake
  15. club — a group
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bank — of a river
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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