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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: roll · hand · rash · bat · straw · pop · bank · scale

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. hand — in cards
  4. scale — size or range
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bank — for money
  7. bat — the animal
  8. roll — a list
  9. bank — of a river
  10. hand — help
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bank — for money
  13. rash — hasty
  14. scale — in music
  15. rash — a series
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bat — for baseball

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