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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · squash · chest · straw · land · cap · nail · bark

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. staff — employees
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cap — a lid
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bark — to shout
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. cap — a hat
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. staff — employees
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — to crush
  22. chest — a box
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. chest — of your body

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