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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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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: toast · pitch · content · game · club · straw · lash · bat

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. game — a match
  8. club — for golf
  9. content — happy
  10. club — a group
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. game — wild animals
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. club — for dancing
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bat — the animal
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. toast — bread
  22. content — the amount
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pitch — completely

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