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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: bat · saw · chest · court · staff · hand · tube · key

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hand — help
  4. staff — employees
  5. key — in music
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. court — of a king
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chest — of your body
  14. key — for a lock
  15. chest — a box
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. tube — a container
  19. key — the most important part
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. staff — employees
  24. tube — the underground

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