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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.

Words on the sheet
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: bat · land · saw · hide · bank · squash · fine · straw

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. land — ground
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bank — for money
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bank — for money
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bank — of a river
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. squash — to crush
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. bat — the animal
  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