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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. tube — a container
  4. staff — employees
  5. game — a match
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chest — a box
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. staff — employees
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — the underground
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. game — wild animals
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. chest — of your body

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