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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. wind — moving air
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cue — a hint
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. deal — to handle
  13. file — a tool
  14. cue — for pool
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cue — a signal
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. file — a document
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. deal — an agreement

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