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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 · straw · bank · swing · wound · snap · bulb · scale

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bank — for money
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wound — an injury
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. swing — in golf
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. bank — for money
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wound — an injury
  21. snap — to click
  22. bat — the animal
  23. swing — music
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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