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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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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. key — the most important part
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bass — the fish
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chest — of your body
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. key — in music
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. chest — a box
  13. staff — employees
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. chest — of your body
  16. staff — employees
  17. bass — low music
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. racket — for tennis

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