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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. club — a group
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. degree — an amount
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — from a university
  11. staff — employees
  12. club — for dancing
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. club — for golf
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. degree — temperature
  18. staff — a stick
  19. court — of law
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. court — for sport
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. nail — on a finger

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