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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bass — low music
  4. hand — in cards
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. staff — employees
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. spring — a coil
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. staff — a stick
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spring — the season
  15. hand — help
  16. craft — a skill
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. fork — in a road
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. spring — of water
  24. craft — boats

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