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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: cell · ball · stick · bat · straw · wound · pop · mouse

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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