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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: foot · straw · mine · cap · bat · net · wake · stand

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. net — in sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. net — after costs
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. net — for catching
  14. stand — to bear
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wake — a trail
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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