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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: bat · shower · stick · kick · nail · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. game — a match
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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