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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. spell — a short time
  3. staff — employees
  4. wind — moving air
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. hand — help
  9. spell — letters
  10. bound — tied together
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spell — magic
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. bound — obliged
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bound — certain
  19. object — to protest
  20. staff — employees
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

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