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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: straw · kick · tube · bat · last · bowl · pit · bound

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bat — the animal
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — finally
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pit — in a race
  14. kick — in football
  15. bound — certain
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bound — tied together
  19. tube — a container
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. last — final
  22. bound — obliged
  23. tube — the underground
  24. last — to go on

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