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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. staff — employees
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. staff — a stick
  7. court — for sport
  8. band — a ring
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bass — low music
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. game — a match
  15. bass — the fish
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. court — of law
  19. band — a music group
  20. court — of a king
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. sharp — clever
  23. staff — employees
  24. bass — the instrument

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