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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: bat · kick · perch · mine · club · chest · jam · suit

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. club — for golf
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chest — of your body
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. chest — a box
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. suit — to fit
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. kick — in football
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. suit — in cards
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. suit — clothes
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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