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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: straw · tube · last · staff · hand · field · fall · rest

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. staff — employees
  3. hand — help
  4. fall — to drop
  5. last — final
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. last — to go on
  11. staff — employees
  12. tube — a container
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. field — farmland
  16. staff — a stick
  17. fall — to drop
  18. last — finally
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rest — what's left
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rest — a break
  24. tube — the underground

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