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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: chair · game · mark · staff · rash · nail · saw · straw

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mark — a trace
  7. staff — employees
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. staff — employees
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rash — hasty
  13. staff — a stick
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rash — a series
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chair — a leader
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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