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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: saw · chair · straw · club · tube · cap · racket · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tube — the underground
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. club — for dancing
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tube — a container
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chair — a leader
  13. saw — the tool
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. staff — a stick
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. club — a group
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. club — for golf
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. staff — employees

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