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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 116 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. court — of law
  3. spell — magic
  4. rush — hurry
  5. court — for sport
  6. staff — a stick
  7. court — of a king
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. drill — army training
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. drill — the tool
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. drill — a practice
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. perch — the fish
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — in music
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. staff — employees

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