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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. ground — the earth
  8. club — for golf
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. squash — the sport
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. squash — to crush
  14. club — a group
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ground — a position
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. club — for dancing
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. track — a song

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