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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: pop · bat · ground · bound · racket · straw · cell · file

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. ground — crushed
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. file — a document
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. file — a line of people
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bat — the animal
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pop — music
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ground — a position
  17. cell — a phone
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ground — the earth
  20. file — a tool
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — to visit

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