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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: bass · current · file · rock · racket · straw · staff · leaves

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. current — electric
  5. staff — a stick
  6. current — of water
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. staff — employees
  9. file — a line of people
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. file — a document
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. current — happening now
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. file — a tool
  19. staff — employees
  20. bass — the fish
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. rock — a stone
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bass — low music

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