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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — an illness
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitch — completely
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. root — the cause
  12. cold — not warm
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. staff — employees
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. vault — a safe
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. staff — a stick
  24. straw — a straw man

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