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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: game · pit · chest · fork · straw · leaves · staff · saw

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pit — a hole
  5. staff — a stick
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pit — in a race
  8. chest — a box
  9. saw — the tool
  10. game — a match
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. fork — in a road
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chest — of your body
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — to go away

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