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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: hand · staff · vault · straw · ground · band · degree · cabinet

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — temperature
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. band — a ring
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. band — a music group
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — a stick
  13. hand — help
  14. staff — employees
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. ground — a position
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. hand — in cards
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. degree — an amount
  22. vault — a safe
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. ground — crushed

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