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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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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: deal · straw · temple · bear · mine · bat · net · kid

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bat — the animal
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. net — for catching
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — in sport
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — child
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bear — to put up with

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