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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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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: cap · file · straw · bat · snap · stick · fan · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. snap — to click
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cap — a hat
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cap — of ice
  18. file — a tool
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. file — a document
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cap — a lid

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