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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. staff — a stick
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bat — the animal
  10. foot — a measure
  11. staff — employees
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. row — a line
  18. rash — hasty
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rash — a series
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. staff — employees
  24. hand — help

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