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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hand — in cards
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. hand — help
  6. rule — a law
  7. roll — a cake
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — the most important part
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. object — to protest
  12. key — in music
  13. roll — a list
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. last — finally
  18. staff — employees
  19. object — an aim
  20. rule — government
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. staff — a stick
  23. object — a thing
  24. roll — on a roll

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