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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: pass · straw · bowl · rest · nail · prune · bat · hand

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. hand — help
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pass — a permit
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rest — what's left
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bat — the animal

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