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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. drill — a practice
  5. staff — employees
  6. bass — low music
  7. drill — the tool
  8. capital — money
  9. net — in sport
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. net — after costs
  13. capital — a city
  14. staff — a stick
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. net — for catching
  17. bass — the fish
  18. drill — army training
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. straw — dry grass

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