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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: straw · rock · cell · bat · lie · net · mark · kid

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cell — in biology
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rock — a stone
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. kid — child
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bat — the animal
  15. net — for catching
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rock — music
  22. kid — to tease
  23. net — after costs
  24. mark — a trace

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