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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 120 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: staff · straw · firm · bulb · club · file · ground · court

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a line of people
  3. club — for golf
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. court — for sport
  6. firm — steady
  7. staff — a stick
  8. club — for dancing
  9. file — a tool
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. court — of law
  13. firm — a company
  14. court — of a king
  15. staff — employees
  16. firm — decided
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. file — a document
  21. club — a group
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bulb — for light
  24. ground — the earth

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