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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: net · rash · pass · spring · bat · straw · roll · lean

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rash — a series
  6. spring — of water
  7. lean — to bend
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. roll — a list
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bat — the animal
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spring — the season
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. lean — thin
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spring — a coil
  23. net — for catching
  24. roll — on a roll

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