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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 120 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 · suit · shower · swing · mate · stick · chair · straw

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. swing — to play on
  5. shower — rain
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bat — the animal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. chair — a leader
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. mate — a friend
  15. suit — in cards
  16. swing — music
  17. suit — clothes
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. suit — to fit
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mate — to breed
  24. swing — in golf

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