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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 116 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 · lash · club · key · fork · patient · straw · cold

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. key — the most important part
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cold — not warm
  6. key — for a lock
  7. staff — a stick
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. staff — employees
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — an illness
  14. club — for golf
  15. fork — in a road
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. staff — employees
  20. club — for dancing
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. club — a group
  24. lash — to lash out

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