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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. staff — a stick
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pit — in a race
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. club — a group
  10. pit — a hole
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. staff — employees
  15. wake — a trail
  16. club — for golf
  17. court — for sport
  18. chest — a box
  19. court — of a king
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. club — for dancing
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. court — of law

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