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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. net — in sport
  7. suit — clothes
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hand — in cards
  12. net — after costs
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. swing — music
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hand — help
  19. swing — to play on
  20. suit — to fit
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. net — for catching
  24. ground — a position

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