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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: wind · file · chair · straw · snap · calf

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. file — a document
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chair — a leader
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. file — a tool
  16. snap — to click
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chair — to sit on

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