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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: hide · hand · roll · pop · bowl · straw · nail · bat

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pop — soda
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pop — music
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. pop — to visit
  22. hand — help
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. hand — in cards

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