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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 116 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: straw · rash · ground · object · file · mouse · row · bat

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. rash — hasty
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. object — a thing
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rash — a series
  9. object — to protest
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ground — a position
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. row — a line
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. file — a document
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. object — an aim
  21. bat — the animal
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ground — crushed

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