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

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. hand — help
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bass — the fish
  6. staff — a stick
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. lean — thin
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bass — low music
  19. chair — a leader
  20. lean — to bend
  21. staff — employees
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. chair — a professorship

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