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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. plane — a tool
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fork — in a road
  13. vault — a safe
  14. staff — employees
  15. file — a line of people
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. staff — employees
  18. plane — an aircraft

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