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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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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: straw · leaves · kid · bank · bass · bat · rest · wound

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. bank — of a river
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. wound — an injury
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bass — low music
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bass — the fish
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rest — a break
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. kid — child
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rest — what's left
  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