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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: straw · wound · pit · staff · board · bass · bat · court

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. court — for sport
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. staff — employees
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bass — low music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bat — the animal
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pit — a hole
  14. staff — employees
  15. board — to get on
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. court — of a king
  20. pit — in a race
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. court — of law
  23. wound — an injury
  24. board — a committee

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