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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 120 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: straw · craft · ground · cell · rash · ball · file · bat

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ball — a dance
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cell — in biology
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. craft — boats
  8. bat — the animal
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rash — a series
  18. file — a tool
  19. ground — a position
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cell — in a prison

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