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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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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: swing · ball · pitcher · leaves · bat · lean · straw · ground

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. swing — in golf
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. ground — crushed
  14. swing — music
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bat — the animal
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. ground — a position

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