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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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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 · kick · band · cabinet · spring · date · bat · pitcher

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bat — the animal
  6. kick — in football
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spring — the season
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. spring — of water
  18. band — a music group
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. band — a ring
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pitcher — a jug

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