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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. net — after costs
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. hand — help
  6. cell — in biology
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. object — to protest
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. spell — a short time
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. object — an aim
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. object — a thing
  18. net — for catching
  19. staff — employees
  20. spell — letters
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. spell — magic
  24. net — in sport

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