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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 · mate · suit · racket · chest · squash · hand · pound

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hand — help
  4. suit — in cards
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the sport
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. staff — employees
  9. mate — to breed
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. suit — clothes
  14. chest — a box
  15. pound — a weight
  16. suit — to fit
  17. hand — in cards
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. staff — a stick
  22. chest — of your body
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mate — a friend

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