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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: chest · last · can · staff · key · straw · bark · degree

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — final
  4. chest — of your body
  5. key — in music
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chest — of your body
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — an amount
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. degree — from a university
  16. last — finally
  17. staff — a stick
  18. can — to be able to
  19. chest — a box
  20. key — the most important part
  21. staff — employees
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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