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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. scale — in music
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. field — for sport
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. field — a subject
  8. cue — a signal
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bank — for money
  11. net — in sport
  12. cue — a hint
  13. field — farmland
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bank — of a river
  18. net — after costs
  19. pop — music
  20. cue — for pool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bank — for money
  23. pop — soda
  24. net — for catching

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