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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 120 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. key — for a lock
  5. spring — a coil
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. spring — of water
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — in music
  13. staff — employees
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stand — to bear
  16. spell — letters
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. spring — the season
  21. spell — a short time
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. spell — magic
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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