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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 116 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: bass · rule · deal · dip · bat · kid · present · straw

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bat — the animal
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. kid — child
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. rule — government
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kid — to tease
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. deal — to handle
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bass — low music
  24. rule — a law

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