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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. staff — a stick
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spring — the season
  5. staff — employees
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. vault — a safe
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. staff — employees
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. spring — of water
  15. content — happy
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. content — the amount
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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