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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · ball · mouse · bark · saw · field · chair · straw

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ball — a dance
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. field — for sport
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bark — to shout
  13. field — farmland
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. ball — a great time
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. field — a subject
  24. straw — dry grass

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