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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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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: game · bat · ball · straw · root · drill

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — the tool
  3. game — a match
  4. bat — the animal
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. root — of a plant
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. drill — army training
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ball — a dance
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. game — wild animals
  18. ball — a great time

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