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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · mine · bowl · rush · bass · straw · charge · bat

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bass — the fish
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mine — for digging
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — a price
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bass — low music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. charge — electricity
  22. kid — child
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bowl — a football final

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