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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 120 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: hide · wind · bat · staff · tube · hand · rest · swing

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. swing — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. staff — employees
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. swing — in golf
  8. staff — employees
  9. hand — help
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rest — a break
  12. tube — a container
  13. swing — to play on
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wind — moving air
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rest — what's left

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