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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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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: straw · bat · game · band · hide · dip

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. game — a match
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. band — a ring
  15. bat — the animal
  16. dip — to sink
  17. band — a music group
  18. bat — for baseball

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