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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: spell · cell · staff · straw · sharp · pitcher · lash · track

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cell — a phone
  4. track — a song
  5. staff — employees
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. spell — letters
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cell — in biology
  13. staff — employees
  14. spell — a short time
  15. staff — a stick
  16. spell — magic
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. track — a path
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. track — to keep track
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cell — in a prison

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