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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: staff · band · straw · bulb · firm · file · field · degree

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. bulb — for light
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. staff — employees
  5. file — a tool
  6. firm — decided
  7. degree — from a university
  8. firm — steady
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. band — a music group
  12. file — a document
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. file — a line of people
  16. staff — employees
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. field — for sport
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. band — a ring
  23. bulb — for light
  24. firm — a company

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