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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. swing — music
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bank — for money
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hand — help
  14. bank — for money
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tube — the underground
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tube — a container
  23. bank — of a river
  24. game — a match

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