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

Word bank: kid · bank · straw · mark · bat · racket

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. kid — child
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mark — a trace
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bank — for money
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mark — a grade
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bank — for money
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bank — of a river

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