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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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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: pound · spell · straw · staff · deal · chest

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pound — a weight
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spell — letters
  5. staff — employees
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. deal — to handle
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spell — a short time
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. chest — a box
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spell — magic

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