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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: date · arm · spring · straw · staff · club · kid · land

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. date — the fruit
  4. club — for dancing
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. spring — the season
  9. land — a country
  10. spring — of water
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. staff — a stick
  13. club — a group
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — ground
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. staff — employees
  21. club — for golf
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. spring — a coil
  24. land — to come down

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