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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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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: net · bear · stick · straw · chair · lie · bound · staff

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. net — in sport
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bound — certain
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. staff — employees
  13. net — for catching
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. staff — a stick
  19. net — after costs
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. lie — to recline
  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