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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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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 · wind · mate · pass · chest · hand · snap

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chest — of your body
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chest — a box
  10. hand — help
  11. mate — to breed
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. snap — to click
  19. mate — a friend
  20. squash — the sport
  21. staff — employees
  22. mate — a partner
  23. squash — to crush
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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