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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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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: game · branch · snap · bay · bowl · bat · staff · chest

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. staff — employees
  5. snap — to click
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chest — a box
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. branch — a division
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chest — of your body
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. game — wild animals
  21. staff — employees
  22. chest — of your body
  23. staff — a stick
  24. game — a match

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