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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: rest · bowl · bat · straw · wind · drill · pound · stand

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rest — a break
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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