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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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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: stick · coach · pop · ground · bat · straw · content · sharp

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pop — to visit
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. ground — crushed
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. pop — soda
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. sharp — clever
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. ground — a position
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pop — music
  19. content — the amount
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. content — happy

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