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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: staff · straw · lean · fork · tear · racket · bat · key

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. staff — employees
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lean — thin
  8. key — the most important part
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bat — the animal
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. key — in music
  19. fork — in a road
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. key — for a lock

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