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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — a partner
  3. staff — employees
  4. spell — a short time
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mate — a friend
  7. staff — employees
  8. spell — letters
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. vault — a safe
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. spell — magic
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fork — in a road

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