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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. club — for golf
  3. hand — help
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. club — a group
  6. spell — a short time
  7. staff — employees
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. swing — to play on
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hand — in cards
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spell — letters
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. club — for dancing
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. kid — to tease
  22. staff — a stick
  23. spell — magic
  24. staff — employees

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