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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: racket · wind · track · mug · straw · chest · bat · current

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mug — to rob
  6. bat — the animal
  7. track — a song
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chest — a box
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. track — to keep track
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. chest — of your body
  22. track — a path
  23. mug — a face
  24. bat — for baseball

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