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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: nail · bat · rock · game · present · stick · pitch · squash

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. game — a match
  13. pitch — completely
  14. present — there
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. present — the time now
  21. rock — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. squash — to crush
  24. rock — to move gently

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