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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: staff · trunk · bat · chest · current · net · roll · swing

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. swing — in golf
  3. staff — a stick
  4. current — of water
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. net — in sport
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. net — for catching
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. swing — to play on
  15. current — happening now
  16. swing — music
  17. roll — a list
  18. net — after costs
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. current — electric

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