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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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468
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: band · board · face · wake · squash · bat · straw · arm

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. face — part of the head
  3. band — a ring
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. face — to point toward
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wake — a trail
  9. band — a music group
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. squash — to crush
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — to get on
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. face — to confront
  24. straw — a straw man

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