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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 · last · can · mug · chest · club · straw · cabinet

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. last — finally
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mug — to rob
  9. can — a tin
  10. last — final
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. last — to go on
  15. can — to be able to
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. club — for golf
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mug — a cup
  20. chest — a box
  21. can — a tin
  22. club — a group
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cabinet — ministers

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