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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 120 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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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: stick · squash · chest · bat · hide · pit · swing · straw

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chest — of your body
  6. squash — to crush
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. swing — in golf
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chest — of your body
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bat — the animal
  18. swing — music
  19. pit — a hole
  20. chest — a box
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. squash — the vegetable

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