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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spring — of water
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spring — a coil
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. staff — employees
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rush — hurry
  19. spring — the season
  20. scale — in music
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. scale — size or range
  23. hand — help
  24. staff — a stick

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