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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: straw · staff · wind · wound · snap · pass · roll · net

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. 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. roll — a cake
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. net — after costs
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. roll — a list
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wind — moving air
  13. net — for catching
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — in sport
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pass — a permit
  20. snap — to click
  21. wound — an injury
  22. staff — employees
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. 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