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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: last · land · squash · staff · hand · can · net · straw

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. staff — employees
  3. squash — the sport
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. staff — a stick
  7. last — final
  8. net — for catching
  9. squash — to crush
  10. can — to be able to
  11. staff — employees
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. last — to go on
  14. net — in sport
  15. hand — in cards
  16. net — after costs
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. can — a tin
  20. hand — help
  21. can — a tin
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. land — to come down

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