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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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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: row · date · net · hide · board · straw · cell · bat

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — to get on
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. row — a line
  8. net — in sport
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bat — the animal
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. net — after costs
  16. cell — in biology
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cell — a phone
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. net — for catching
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bat — in an idiom

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