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

Word bank: hide · pound · staff · chair · capital · straw

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. chair — a leader
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pound — a weight
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. staff — employees
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. capital — money
  15. staff — a stick
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. staff — employees

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