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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: mouse · kid · swing · bat · rash · stick · pitch · rest

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. 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. rash — on the skin
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. swing — music
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitch — completely
  8. rash — a series
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rest — what's left
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. 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