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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 · straw · mine · chip · scale · ball · bay · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ball — a great time
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chip — for betting
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. scale — in music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rock — a stone

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