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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · object · bat · chest · mark · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. object — an aim
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. rock — music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. object — a thing
  12. chest — a box
  13. mark — a trace
  14. object — to protest
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rock — to move gently

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