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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: straw · face · nail · hide · mug · last · spring · staff

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. spring — the season
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. last — finally
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. staff — employees
  9. spring — a coil
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. face — part of the head
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spring — of water
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. staff — employees
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. staff — a stick
  23. last — to go on
  24. mug — to rob

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