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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — a trail
  10. staff — employees
  11. spring — of water
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pitch — completely
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. rash — hasty
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. rash — a series
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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