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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: rest · bat · bear · straw · field · toast · shower · swing

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rest — a break
  3. toast — bread
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. field — a subject
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rest — what's left
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. field — farmland
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. field — for sport
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. swing — music
  24. bear — the animal

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