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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 120 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hand — help
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. drill — the tool
  11. suit — clothes
  12. rock — music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. drill — army training
  18. suit — to fit
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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