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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · bat · date · key · staff · bowl

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bat — the animal
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. key — in music
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chest — a box
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. chest — of your body
  13. staff — employees
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bowl — a football final

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