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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: spell · straw · file · stand · wake · sharp

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. file — a tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. spell — magic
  6. file — a document
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. file — a line of people
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. stand — to bear
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. spell — letters
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wake — a trail
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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