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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: bowl · bat · swing · foot · chip · game · straw · calf

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. swing — music
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. chip — for betting
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bat — the animal
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bowl — to roll

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