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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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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: field · object · nail · straw · hand · perch · staff · coach

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. hand — help
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. field — a subject
  7. staff — employees
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. staff — a stick
  12. hand — in cards
  13. perch — the fish
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. field — farmland
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. field — for sport
  19. object — a thing
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — to protest
  24. straw — dry grass

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