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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.

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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 · pop · club · bark · cabinet · stick · vault

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. staff — employees
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. club — for golf
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. pop — music
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. staff — employees
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — a group
  16. staff — a stick
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pop — soda
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. pop — to visit

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