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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 · bat · straw · lean · nail · present · scale · stock

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. lean — thin
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. staff — employees
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. present — there
  9. staff — employees
  10. scale — in music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. staff — a stick
  14. present — the time now
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. lean — to bend
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stock — shares
  21. scale — size or range
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lean — to rest against

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