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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. row — to paddle
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pass — a permit
  6. object — a thing
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. roll — a list
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. object — an aim
  13. roll — a cake
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. chest — a box
  20. object — to protest
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. chest — of your body
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. row — a line

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