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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. file — a tool
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. craft — a skill
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cue — for pool
  11. spring — the season
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — obliged
  14. staff — employees
  15. cue — a signal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bound — certain
  18. spring — of water
  19. file — a line of people
  20. staff — a stick
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bound — tied together
  23. craft — boats
  24. file — a document

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